Allotments 4 All

I just read a strange tip in the AG from Bob Flowerdew -he says to "remove and compost the poisonous flower heads and seed pods from potato plants as this will increase the crop"...

I have never heard of this before... any comments anyone.

Jitterbug

presumably on the same principle as deadheading daffs. a bit too much faffing about, i'd have thought.

do it sometimes, if I think on..I don't know if it increases the yield though, I forget which ones I've done it to  ;D

More trouble than it's worth I would have thought!
;D

Do they really do this commercially?

http://www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=729_52

I read the same thing years ago and now always remove the flowers from my maincrop potatoes.

Not sure if it improves the yield or not.Never really done a comparison.

We heard this and did the same last year. But it's difficult to make comparisons, because there are so many other things to get in the way, weather and soil conditions etc.

And variety & fertiliser & when lifted &............

The only way that you could prove it one way or another, would be to take a row of potatoes and for half the row, take off the flowers, and leave the flowers on the other half row.
When the time comes to lift the potatoes, count or weigh each half row and compare.
I might just do that.

Too complicated for us  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

It does make sense to me, stop it waisting energy on top to produces more on the bottom. :)

I remember hearing something about this last year, probably Bob on GQT.
The figure that stuck in my mind was an incease in yield of 1 ton/acre.

I think to test this out you need to be growing spuds by the acre.

Even so, weed control and watering can make a far bigger difference.

Life's too short.....rather be quaffing a bottle of fine Shiraz..... ;) ;D ;D

Thanks for all the replies.  Yeah I must admist I'd rather be sipping a Pimms that faffing around - and anyway there are far too many other important jobs to be getting on with.

Jitterbug

does anyone know if nicola flowers?

Give her a Pimms?

The slugs have done this job for me on my Red Duke of York!!
They didn't leave any for empirical comparison...

rabbits have done mine  :) .   Tim !

I am waiting for my row of nicola to be ready, the growth is about 3ft high compared to Moulin Rouge which is about a foot!

Both planted and chitted at the same time i think it was march but the dates are in the shed.

I am itching to dig a few spuds up but dont want to get 2 disapointed by pulling the nicola 2 early.

Well if I had an acre of spuds I wouldn't have time to start picking flowers that's for sure...daft idea