Topic: Bucket potatoes.

[Mothy]

Tim,
I let my little girl sow some paris early market that were free with GYO magazine in a small pot in the greenhouse, they are doing so well that I thought I would try some Early Nantes, or such like, to try and get a crop with no fly etc. and that way if the spuds fail at least the compost etc won't be a complete waste.
As for the spuds, my 1st try in a container, but they've been fed, watered and cared for....don't know what else to do?

All the ones in the Allotment have just been plonked in the ground and left to get on with it!

[westsussexlottie]

So why should our spuds fail????

Does anyone have an answer to this???

[moonbells]

So why should our spuds fail????
Does anyone have an answer to this???

I keep having to really soak mine with the rate they are hoovering up water.  But it seems to have paid off. Furtled out three 1.5" diameter beauts tonight - yum! These are the Rockets, been in the pot 10.5 weeks, partially in the conservatory but mostly outside.  They are supposed to be ready in 10. Compost dry as a bone again despite downpours so drenched yet again and so hopefully the majority of the spuds will get bigger. 

moonbells

[tim]

How do you know when they need water?? You have a long finger?

[westsussexlottie]

OH left the garden watering system on for 4  hours last night by mistake - so everything was flooded. At least the potato barrels will have had a good opportunity to drink plenty of water.
All we need now is proper sunshine - to dry up my decking.

[tim]

I have a timer you could have 'for free'??

[westsussexlottie]

I am usually the timer...  :)

the OH forgets.  ::) Football was the given reason. I got home from a meeting being able the hear the trickle of a river in the garden. Patio in 2 inches of water etc.....

I think the gardenia "timer units" sell for around £40!

[Doris_Pinks]

WSL I am with you, I usually try to remember to put the oven timer on to remind me, but have been known to go out shopping etc. only to come back to a flooded greenhouse........then I feel guilty cos I have wasted all that water! :-\

[moonbells]

How do you know when they need water?? You have a long finger?

:)

I stick a hand down the side of the bucket and see if the compost's damp! Or just try and pick up the bucket. If it's even reasonably damp then I can't pick it up. If it's not, then it's really easy.
Then I water accordingly!

It seems to take a day or two to reduce drenched compost to dry as a bone so I can only assume the spuds are taking it up and transpiration is removing it from the plants as well as swelling the tubers.  The bucket with more foliage (Rocket) gets lighter faster than Mimi, which is probably an indication of transpiration.

moonbells

[Mothy]

First of my Rocket out of the Dustbin in the cold G/house!!

Chuffed am I.

[Svea]

looks yummy. i think we are going to start investigating the potatoes soon, too :)

[tim]

Very organic looking, Mothy!

[Mrs Ava]

Jealous!

Look great!!

[moonbells]

I removed one rocket plant in its entirety from my bucket yesterday as it was going yellow.  The stems were hollowed and blackened, which was a bit worrying (though with it being a bucket, at least anything nasty is contained).  The original tuber was slimy.  Blackleg? Must have come in with the tuber if it is...  Rescued all the perfectly sound spuds and ate some for tea (around a pound of them were rescued, after I'd already furtled some out last week).

Other two plants look fine so I left them alone.  I shall harvest one per week. Rockets aren't the tastiest of spuds - bit wishywashy - but they're so early one can forgive that,  and they'll tide me over until the Red Dukes flower. 

moonbells

[Svea]

moonbells, interesting. see my thread on potato stem rot (??)

i was advised that the pots dont taste good - did you sort out ones that looked icky? and only used the 'good' looking ones for your dinner? i am about to lift the plant and see what it has produced, if anything.

cheers
svea

[moonbells]

moonbells, interesting. see my thread on potato stem rot (??)

i was advised that the pots dont taste good - did you sort out ones that looked icky? and only used the 'good' looking ones for your dinner? i am about to lift the plant and see what it has produced, if anything.

cheers
svea

Hi Svea - yes I read your thread after I replied to this!
I didn't have any icky ones bar the slimy one at the bottom (which went straight in the dustbin). They were all lovely clean tubers, with no blemishes inside either. Tasted fine, though they all had little white blebs on the surface which brushed off easily. Not sure what these were, but there were more on the tiny ones so perhaps it's normal. 

I thought at first I'd damaged the stems while rootling about for some tubers last week, but it was all the stems off one plant.  I've got a mostly severed stem up the lottie too, but think that one was slugs as the plant had managed to grow new roots above the nibble and it's not yellowed.

So much for HDRA certified seed spuds! Caveat emptor as ever...

moonbells
 

[westsussexlottie]

I tried to "rootle about" in one of our potato tubs but seem to have killed one of the plants in the process - whole plant yellowing and looking sicky ever since. The tub seems thick with roots (but not potatoes)
Is it better just to lift the whole lot and give up - or wait?

[Lady of the Land]

I had the same problem initially, but found I was able to carefully lift up the three plants from the pot and feel around for those potatoes on the outside, used these first and then gradually work further into the compost each time I wanted more potatoes. This seemed to prevent too much damage.

[tim]

All mine were, unusually(?), at the bottom.

[annalex]

I planted some left over early spuds in plastic sacks which I have topped up with leaf mulch.  Another allotment holder told me about this.   so far the greenery is fantastic and the sacks now completly full.  I just hope theres some spuds there too!   the allotment ones are much weaker as nobled by those hard frosts we had.   this is our 2nd year so very much learners