Potatoes

[Plocket]

Morning! I want to grow potatoes next year - my first ever try! Can anyone recommend a good internet site to look at with regard to buying seed-potatoes or whatever. Many thanks.

[Plocket]

[Jesse]

Hi Plocket, I too want to grow potatoes for the first time. I have been reading through previous threads here and a lot of people seem very happy with Marshalls. Their website is http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/ but is currently off line, although there is a phone number displayed to order a catalogue. I got my catalogue last week (or was it the week before?) and they have a good selection of potatoes to buy.

[Ceri]

I got mine from the organic gardening catalogue website www.organiccatalog.com.  They do collections of 5 different types of pots - great if you want to try a row or so each of different types

[Plocket]

A row or so? Nice idea but with my limited space I am going to try them in pots. Iain D grows them in pots and has great success. I am going to follow his lead and try!

[tim]

The only way to get 'a few', I believe, is to visit the local hardware store. Or. if you're growing in containers, & will risk imported disease, talk to your locals - or the 'swap shop'? = Tim

[CotswoldLass]

Hi Plocket, my neighbour grows all his in containers due to potato blight (fortunately my garden OK touch wood). We all get seed potatoes from local sources - either the lottie association or local farmers' store or swap. As Tim says, then you know what you are getting.
Hope this helps! CL  ;)

[Moggle]

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I got my seed spuds from B&Q and they grew and came out ok - not a lot of varieties though.

[Iain D]

Hi Plocket

My potatoes came from a local garden centre that was selling them in smallish bags. They were Unwins brand though so probably quite widely available. Even so, there were too many for me to use cos you only need 5 or 6 per pot, but luckily I have a friend with a veg garden and she took the surplus. I remember reading in a magazine earlier in the year though that some mail order suppliers have started doing small quantities of some varieties and I'm going to investigate that avenue for next year. I'll look through my back copies and if I find anything, I'll let you know.

all best, Iain

[Mrs Ava]

You could, as Tim suggests Plocket, start a thread, around spud buying time, asking that if anyone has a few spares, you would give them a loving home.  I believe Aquilegia asked this year and received several very nice varieties.  You could end up with a nice selection, but just a couple of each!  ;D

Or, talk to fellow gardeners, neighbours, and family.  Do any of those grow their own veggies as you could split a bag of seed pots between you, splits the cost also.  Always a bonus in my opinion!  :P

[wattapain]

In my local garden centre they sell seed pot pic'n'mix - you fill a little bowl - like the salad bar in the supermarket. You can have a selaction of first/second earlies amd/or maincrops(they have a selection of varieties).
Only problem  - you need some way of telling which is which - take lots of bits of paper & a pencil??  ::)
terri

[Plocket]

Hello!

EJ - excellent suggestion - but when is seed-potato buying time?

Everyone who suggested sharing - I like the idea of sharing but don't know anyone else who grows potatoes. Will have to hang around the nearby allotments.....!

Iain - fancy sharing a bag!!!!!

Wattapain - I really like the idea your garden centre has. Are they a chain or individual? I could get a few varieties without having to buy masses of each!

T&M have said that they will be doing seed-potatoes so I will also check them out when the time comes. This potato growing business is a lot more serious and complicated than I originally thought!!!

[wattapain]

The garden centre in question is a small. independent called Oliver's farm nurseries in Witham.
You would think larger ones would do this but I couldn't find any. i grew them in compost bags the las 2 years ( a la  uncle Bob Flowerdew) and you only need about 3-4 spuds per bag. Brilliant way to grow spuds in a tiny garden though. But NEXT year, I'll have loadsa space in my lottie   ;D ;D
Terri

[Jesse]

Plocket I plan to grow potatoes next year and if I don't get my allotment in time (which quite possibly I won't  :'(), then I will be growing potatoes in bags as shown by Bob Flowerdew. I too will quite possibly face the problem of having too much for my own use so will be happy to do a swap or share if the need arises. I was hoping to grow some now in time for Xmas but everyone seems to be sold out, guess I've left it too late to put in my order this year.

[Toots]

I found buying locally was good as they had em in at the right time and the local shop!! Stocked tatties that local villagers liked as they did well in the conditions here.

Not a good range though if looking for that.

I must admit that I also saved some that had done well ,and replanted.

I tend to use tatties to clear ground as a catch crop so that the whole of it is well turned .Snag is tiny tatoes remain and sneak up next year!

toots

[gavin]

Find your local Potato Day?  Good for getting a small number of seed potatoes.

Any number, 20p apiece (I think - I got the date wrong this year!), from 150+ varieties ---- and several people around who know what they're talking about!

All you need to remember is lots of used envelopes and a biro.

All best - Gavin