Produce > Edible Plants

Is fertilising potatoes after planting unnecessary?

(1/2) > >>

George the Pigman:
In never usually bother fertilising my potatoes after planting and have had bumper crops in the past although some years they are poor. In the latter case this can be usually put down to too much rain (rotting in situ or blight) or too little at the wrong time of year when the tubers are forming. I just make sure the soil is in good condition before I plant and add a bit of Growmore to the hole I plant the potatoes in. All the older gardening books I have never mention fertilising after planting.
Looking at the web a lot of sites nowadays enthusiastically recommend using granular fertiliser or tomato feeding several times post planting over the growing period, though in some cases they may have a vested interest as they are sites that want to sell you the fertiliser!
I would be interested in what people think of the issue.

saddad:
My solution to possible poor yields ... is just to plant a few more.... I think they are just trying to sell more fertilisers to increase their profits... it is possible that newer varieties are bred for specific water/feed regimes to maximise or at least stabilise returns by agribusiness rather than older ones which could cope with a wider variety of conditions.

Beersmith:
From memory the recommended dosage for potatoes is an initial dressing of 4 ounces of growmore per square yard raked in before planting.  Depending on how generous you are when adding growmore to the planting hole you may be giving them a good start anyway.  Further feeding is recommended for maximum yields but we are keeping allotments not growing commercially, and this sort of decision is a regular issue. 

Obelixx:
I added garden compost to the bed and then scattered a generous dollop of pelleted manure along the row before planting.   i don't feed after that.

The main problem is water here so, after the first lot of Charlottes I planted all grew huge and floury and the big baker/masher Bintjes failed completely, I  now only plant potatoes bought for the table and that have sprouted before i get round to cooking them.

This year that's some Grenaille and Noirmoutier potatoes and they're looking a lot happier after last night's downpour so i might have a firkle this weekend and see if any are ready to eat, before they go floury;

Paulh:
I expect that mot of us do the same - prepare the ground and add a general fertiliser before planting. Potatoes need nitrogen initially to create the healthy top growth that will feed the tubers. A general fertiliser like Growmore (NPK 7:7:7) supplies that but the other ingredients may largely be washed away before the plants need them, to promote tuber growth. We then keep our fingers crossed on watering, rain and blight.

If you are going to feed for later, you need potato fertilisers that are high in the PK parts (the granular one our Association sells is 6:10:10), and I believe it can be add at planting or later as it is slow release. Tomato fertilisers are also high in PK, hence the sales pitches.

I never know when to water / not water my potatoes and would rather avoid creating blight conditions, so they largely get left to their own devices after I have (failed to) earth them up.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page