I grew potatoes in containers and compost bags this year - had a small-ish crop Charlotte, Maris Peer - and have all this lovely compost left over (made up of last year's compost and multicompost mixed prior to planting the potatoes) - which I have bagged up.
Planning on using this compost - probably spreading over the garden. I know potatoes should not be grown in the same compost more than once, but is there anything else that should be avoided - thinking of using some in a strawberry bed/pot would this be OK or could I be passing on a possible virus ???
When I planted my potatoes in the bucket/bag I put them at the bottom of the container and covered - have seen Alan Titchmarsh half-fill a bucket and then plant - would this be reason for low yield ?? (One particular bag had none !!!) Mind you - still worth it - just want to improve yield for next year :)
Hi Sumbody
I don't think the ex-spud compost will harm the garden in general, but if you are growing tomatoes, peppers, or more spuds anywhere, best not to put it with them. With other species of produce (like your strawbs) it's not so much a worry about passing on viruses, more that I would imagine that anything that needed strong nourishment might struggle in it as most of the goodness will have been gobbled by the spuds (in the foiliage if not the tubers), so probably not a good idea to use it specifically to grow new crops in.
As for growing spuds in tubs/containers, to get a better yield I would plant them fairly near the bottom (4-6 inches from the base, with a couple of inches of dirt over the seed potato), then when there is about 4-6 inches of leafy growth top it up to cover that growth (effectively you are hoeing up a row); if the pot is deep enough, do the same again when you've got another 4-6 inches of leafy growth. Keep well watered (but not waterlogged!), and a foliar feed will probably help every now and again.
When the flowers have gone over (or earlier, depending on variety) (or when the haulms die back, depending on variety), tip them out and eat.
Ken Muir (strawb breeding guru) and my HDRA organic bible both say don't move strawbs where spuds have just been growing.
Also avoid putting it where you've got other members of the spud family (eg tomatoes) growing.
Thank you for that valuable info triffid, I had two possible sites for my new strawberry bed, either the site of the first early potatoes (now cleared), or the site of the broad beans (cleared a few weeks ago). Definitely the latter ...