Allotments 4 All

How are your potatoes doing?  I planted mine in containers (first time for doing this) and have had a good quantity of small potatoes. 

Hi Shirley

I planted Epicures in containers this year - got about 5 pounds per container - which had 3 plants in each.  Still got King Edwards for main crop - dont know how they are doing yet.

Meg

I grew the free Vales Emeralds in a bag as well. Probably harvested a bit early as quite a few very small tubers  as well as medium sized ones. I thought they cooked well and tasted good.

You're about the only one then.

Oh not  me..very mediocre taste I thought XX Jeannine

Did you add liquid feed (Maxicrop in my case)  to the water when you watered the bag?  Makes a big difference to the eventual taste.

Oops - just checked my notes and they got  "Decent taste" , which is one rank below "good taste."  :-[

My only excuse is that as well as a tomato testing year it has also been a spud testing year: 13 varieties, in bags and/or in beds, so have been a bit overwhelmed since we don't actually eat that many potatoes!

I never feed any of my potatoes in tubs - but then I do mix well rotted manure in with the compost when I plant them - compared to both Chalottes, Anya, and Mayan Gold they were pretty tasteless, even the Maris Bard I pulled from the ground at the same time were better. They yield as well as both the charlottes, maris, and mayan gold, but all the others cook better as well.

Cooked some more of these today, they break up very easily when boiled  and it spoils the look when eating them plain boiled so this time I mashed them,, not easy for a new spud, they creamed very well, so I have now found a good use for them. I find mashing new ones usually gives ma a gelatinous muck but not with these.XX Jeannine

hi could you guys tell me what you do to successfully get decent/ good crops from your container grown spuds. just tell me your different methods so i can see where i might be going wrong :-\. thanks in advance.

Put 6 inches of composted manure / growbag compost - anything moisture with some moisture retaining fibre in it.  Place in the seed potatoes in multi compost - enough to give them a good covering. Each time the haulms get to 6 inches above the soil level top up the compost so that the haulms are barely showing. Continue until the container is full.

Most containers need regular thorough watering as they dry out very quickly.  I add liquid feed (seaweed based) to a least one of the waterings each week once the haulms are developed.

I asked this question a couple of months ago here is a link to the responses then.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44011.msg442189.html#msg442189

I have to say though I harvested my Maris peer which tasted great last year and I would have to say they didn't taste anywhere as good this year either.

thanks guys for the quick reply, i think it was the watering this year that let me down as i added organic potato fertiliser to the soil as i topped up will try to ensure the potatoes for Christmas don't dry out, but i assume this will be easier during the wetter autumnal months.