Container grown spuds

[wardy]

I harvested my container grown Cara's yesterday and got some great spuds.  Some really big ones and very clean.  I think they would have been even better if they'd had more water.  I grew some in fertiliser bags, some in a great big tub and some in a wash basket.  The foliage on Cara is very tall and a bit of a faff in the fertiliser bag as it kept keeling over but the experiment was well worth doing and proves you can produce plenty of spuds in a small space.  The Cara's I grew on the lotty didn't perform that brilliantly and I only got a small yield off each spud

[wardy]

[reedos]

I've grown most of mine in sacks I got from one of the seed companies, I can't remember which, it worked really well. Tatties came out with no scab, slug damage or anything - unlike some of the ones sown in the ground, I'll definately do it again next year. :D

[Mrs Ava]

Well I have 4 empty growbags which were used upended, not flat, and in each one is one spuds growing away merrily.  An experiment really, how knows, new pots for Chrimble dinner?

[aquilegia]

Wardy - that's great. I didn't think of doing main crops in containers.

I did all my earlies and most of my charlottes in upturned grow bags and some in the council recycling box (we had a spare and it worked pretty well!) Got a great crop. Only scab due to me not watering enough occassionally. So much easier to harvest than ground ones (see my other spud thread!)

[wardy]

I think mine would have benefited from a bit more water too  :)  I'm definitely doing it again next year but with a less leafy variety as I got better yield per spud than in open ground

My lotty mate recommends Picasso which is a follow on from Cara but doesn't have the massive foliage  :)  He showed me one of his spuds yesterday grown in a pot and it was humungous  ;D

[aquilegia]

Wardy - I grew Picassos this year too. Got one that weighed in at 18oz! I have a smaller one for jacketing for my lunch today. (It'll be the first one I've eaten, so will report back on taste. So hungry I could eat it now)

Later - oh it is absolutely devine! yum yum yum.

[wardy]

Great stuff Aqui!  Just shows you can grow goodly taters in only a small garden so it's encouraging for peeps who might think it can't be done.  Not eaten a Cara yet but probably will for tea tonight.

I think we're going to be self sufficient in potatoes til planting time next year  :)

[aquilegia]

Oh yes - I think we're going to be self sufficient in spuds for a while yet. We've got 20lbs, minus a bit of damaged ones and some for making soup, should still keep us in spuds for about 3-4 months. (I haven't bought potatoes since about June anyway! But then we only tend to eat them once or twice a week.)

It's great isn't it!

[wardy]

I haven't bought any veg or salad stuff for an age either.  Makes you feel all smug inside  :)  Also have tonnes of courgettes in freezer.  My husband groaned loudly when he saw them  ;D

I thought at first when I forked out for seeds and plants and seed spuds for lotty in first year it would be quite expensive but on reflection I think I've come out rather better than I thought

Gots loads of squashes in storage too, and all those spuds  :o

[Derekthefox]

Yes Wardy, and if you manage to save any seed, then your bill next year will be even less ...

On the spuds, I have one sack of Desiree, one very large one of Cara, and haven't lifted the Pink Fir Apple to check ... , and we are still eating the International Kidney.

Derekthefox :D

[aquilegia]

good for you Wardy! wish I could say the same about all my veg! All meals have a least one thing out the garden (even if it's garlic and herbs) and we tend to have one meal a week where all veg is homegrown. Not bad I suppose really being as I only have five small veg beds. Wish I didn't have to work, then I'd have time for a lottie too!

[wardy]

Hi Dek!  I got Cara's, Desiree's and Arran Pilots to feed me through the winter  :)  Got loads of seeds left over and keeping them safely in fridge for next season (always plenty in the packets)  I reckon it should be cheaper next year too as I won't have any tools to buy hopefully.  Still got a load of manure as well as haven't been able to get near it all summer as wasps have taken up residence in it  :)

Derek   Have you had Desiree chips?

Aqui    It's great to have a handy supply of herbs at home and I love to nip out to get a sprig of thyme or a bunch of parsley.  I grow garlic under each rose so I've got some all year round  :) When I had a little garden I grew parsnips and carrots in with the flowers.  It never worked with the brassicas though.  Not sure why  :(

[Derekthefox]

For me, the only potato to make chips from are Pink Fir Apple, they are just staggering. I left a pile of cold ones on a plate, having cooked too many, and the kids scoffed them cold at breakfast time !

The desiree will mostly be for roasting, and the Cara are general purpose, with plenty of Jacket sized ones available.

Derekthefox :D

[ALAN HOWELL]

For me, the only potato to make chips from are Pink Fir Apple, they are just staggering.

Chips from PFA Eh?there's a thought,got loadsa the perishers :D
nice and crinkley too....Alan

[wardy]

I made some wedges out of Desiree the other day and roasted them with a bunch of thyme and onions etc.  Very good eating indeed

Good tip about PFA.  Must get meself some of them for next year.  Are they pink? Only I found some spuds growing in my leaf mould bin so pulled them and they look long and knobbly like PFA only they were white?

[Vez1]

This has been my first year so have never grown potatoes in tubs before. If I was to do this next year do i cut the bottom out of whatever container I use?

[grubbyhobbit]

Wardy, my PFA's have come out all shades - pale cream right up to a vivid fuschia!  So what you've found could be PFA..
My fave way of doing them is to cut 'em in half, swish 'em in a tablespoon of oil, salt, pepper and plenty of fresh herbs, and bake 'em for about 25 minutes.... yum, yum, yum

[wardy]

Vez      You don't need to cut the bottom half off the container

[Icyberjunkie]

Wardy,  just be careful with the watering.  Before I had a lottie I grew spuds in some plastic dustbins I had drilled some drainage holes in and found it was very easy to overwater and end up with rotten spuds.

Scab was also a massive problem at times if the potatoes were left to long so worth uncovering a spud or two at times to check.  Mind you I only ever grew Sharpes Express in the bins so maybe a varietal sensitivity.......

Iain

[wardy]

I got more scab on the ones grown in manure than the container ones in clean compost  :)