Pots in Pots!!

[Teej]

Hi - I'd just like a bit of advice please.  I've never grown potatoes but I'm going to try growing them in containers/bags this year.  I obviously don't need many but would like to try more than 1 variety.  I've found a couple of suppliers on the internet who sell a few of each variety.  They come in at about the same price but the varieties are slightly different & I just wondered which you would recommend.
1 contains Charlotte, Maris Peer & Red Duke of York - the other is Charlotte, Maris Peer & Swift.
As a complete novice I would be grateful for your comments.
Thanks very much!
:)

[Teej]

[froglets]

Can't give you much advice on the varieties side, but as I grew most of my potatoes on tubs and bags last year, this yera I'm thinking of sticking to early varieties as it was hard work keeping them watered enough during the summer.

Check out the links elsewhere on here too for potato days, I bought 2 tubers of six varieties last year at a fair. 12p per tuber.

[miniroots]

I've heard good things about Red Duke of York... not grown either of them myself.

[Barnowl]

Alan Roman (potato guru) specifically rates Swift for container growing, but Red Duke of York are very popular for flavour etc. Difficult choice!

http://www.alanromans.com/product.asp?P_ID=606

http://www.alanromans.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=17&P_ID=603

[saddad]

Swift are one of the fastest so that would free up your container earlier for a follow on crop...
Not overly impressed with the taste myself always grow RDoYork myself but not sure how they would do in pots.
:-\

[Hyacinth]

I bought small quantities of potatoes for chitting from a local G.C. last year & I believe that you can buy them at a stall in Birmingham Market too. I grew Belle de Fontenay as salad potatoes in tubs last year & will repeat again. I'm also going to grow a few Pink Fir Apples in tubs this year. I think it would be worth asking around to see if there's anywhere you can buy a few of this, a few of that, before you go down the pre-selected route offered by the 2 suppliers. Last year, in all, I grew 6 varieties. Sory I don't have a price but remember that they were sold by weight, rather than per tuber.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I bought small quantities of potatoes for chitting from a local G.C. last year & I believe that you can buy them at a stall in Birmingham Market too.

You can indeed (good selection though varieties come and go) and I've also spotted a shop in Bearwood, up Three Shires Oak Road, that seems to have a good selection. I haven't seen any yet this year though.

[philcooper]

Avoid Swift or any other very 1st Early, they have little or no flavour

Charlotte and Red DoY  are excellent - please feed them well (orgainc not chemical and they will reward you hansomely

Phil

[Toadspawn]

Builders buckets or similar style are good for potatoes. Drill drainage holes in the bottom. Easy to move around with handles. Wilkinsons currently have black buckets at £0.99 which makes them significantly cheaper than pots of a similar size and they can be reused.
Swift is very early but agree not a brilliant flavour. Charlotte is called a salad potato and is OK. Not grown the others. Grew Swift, Charlotte, Lady Crisrtl, Kestrel, Maxine, Nadine and Accent last year because I was able to buy a few tubers of each variety by weight. They were in general OK. Accent probably the best.

[Goosgog]

we grew pots for the first time last year. My friend at work brought me some sprouting things in and we just planted and grew some fantastic red suds..really tasty. My friend just peels big chunks off her pots and throws them into the garden and it seems to work so we tried this laid back attitude and produced some lovely potatoes so this year we are going to plant loads.

[carrot-cruncher]

My friend just peels big chunks off her pots and throws them into the garden and it seems to work so we tried this laid back attitude and produced some lovely potatoes so this year we are going to plant loads.

Goosgogs

Do you mean your friend is getting potatoes from just her peelings as opposed to planting an entire tuber?

CC

[Teej]

Thanks very much to everyone - certainly given me something to think about!  I like Charlotte anyway & will prob try Red Duke of York too.  I'll have a look round at weekend & see if anywhere locally sells small quantities & then take it from there.  I just want to start doing something really & planning/buying is the only possibility with this weather!

Regarding containers for growing - that's easily sorted as OH gets huge & medium sized food-grade buckets from work, all with handles & ideal for gardening/decorating & all sorts of things.

Thanks again.

[Hyacinth]

I learned my lesson last year with growing potatoes in the ground at the far end of a long garden - we didn't have a hosepipe ban but it was still too much of a f*g to get the hose out just for that crop and certainly the yield suffered as a result. So more in pots nearer the water tap this year, then :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Had you thought of leaving a hose permanently in place, so it just needed connecting up?

[saddad]

If you do leave a hose out, and we do for the 100' of garden then 70' of allotment, remember to take the fittings off the ends as many have stop valves which mean when the water in the pipe freezes it can split the hose, or break the fittings.
:(

[LauraB]

I bought small quantities of potatoes for chitting from a local G.C. last year & I believe that you can buy them at a stall in Birmingham Market too.

Oh, that's really good to know - I'll have to pop in next time I'm in town  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's in the Bull Ring by the meat stalls. Things come and go but if you can keep an eye on them they have a pretty good selection.

[Tulipa]

I have grown Lady Christl and Swift in containers and was not at all impressed with Swift but had been spoilt with Lady C the year before, the flavour from them was wonderful. :D

T.

[Hyacinth]

Had you thought of leaving a hose permanently in place, so it just needed connecting up?

too untidy (and I'm very tidy) :), and too inconvenient, too,  as the hose is needed down the near end of the garden so I'd still be hauling it around :-\ Bad thinking of mine to grow pots in those 2 patches at the far end last year. The rest of the area is shrubbery & never gets watered other than by rain. But I'd not allowed for a dry summer..

Laura, I'd not realized that you were one of us 8) Don't let your cat wander too far. I've been just loving the pic of yours & a spot of cat-napping might be quite do-able ;D

[Teej]

Does anybody live in the Stockport/Manchester area?  If so, do you know if there's anywhere locally which sells small quantities of potatoes?

Thanks very much.