Allotments 4 All

I have a number of 24" raised beds ... and it's time to plant the main crop potatoes.  (Desiree)

The ground is rich -well manured, pH balanced, high humus content  - another 3 tonne of well rotted manure went in last weekend, so acidity will be up a tad.   (OK ... nice to have put manure in 6 months ago - but such is life)

Should I just stick the spuds in (as for other years), or is it worth trenching out about 12", putting a 4" layer of manure - then spuds  ?  or not worth the effort.

Also secondary Q ... what is best fertilizer to add ,,, now at plating time it is root growth & stem that needs to kick off ... that means Nitrogen  & Phosphorus  ... so should I consider adding bonemeal  (4:12)   or Fish Blood & Bone (5:5:5)  even though Potassium not needed now.
IF one of these ... how much should I use ?

BFB is pretty good, bonemeal by itself is a bit slow. POtatoes are gross feeders anyway, I usually put in about a handful per 2 yards of row, though I get it cheap in the loose from our lottie shop.... I wouldn't bother with the pooh ritual, if you've got it chuck it on and dig it in as you plant :D...

I might enquire as to why you're using raised beds for spuds though, it'll be the devils own job to harvest them unless you climb in or else take it down..... but that's just my opinion of raised beds a lot of the time...

Mine will be going in soon and they take up half of one of my two 5-rod plots.....

chrisc

Our raised beds are pretty easy to get spuds out of  ???
Anyway, we use bfb at planting time  :)

I plant mine in a trench filled with compost,but doubt it makes a difference tbh

If the bed has been well manured you should have good results regardless so throw them in  ;D

Quote from: chriscross1966 on March 28, 2012, 20:26:28
...
I might enquire as to why you're using raised beds for spuds though, it'll be the devils own job to harvest them unless you climb in or else take it down..

easy answ ..ground is unsuitable for growing anything, self build site on former Railway sidings. Soil is at least 20' down.
The raised beds are 6' wide and accessible from all sides.
Pick the spuds easily without bending your back, so actually easier than if at ground level.

Oh, btw, sargan, welcome to a4a  ;D

Raised beds would suggest not going to be enough water for potatoes.... then if you do water them you could get split tubers...

Quote from: manicscousers on March 28, 2012, 22:20:58
Oh, btw, sargan, welcome to a4a  ;D

Thnx ... you seem a happy bunch.

I was on a different 'allotment forum'  and they got very upset when I suggested picking seaweed off the beach and using it as straight in the ground fertilizer ...
A common practise where I live ... I was told I was encouraging people to break the Law !

Quote from: picman on March 28, 2012, 22:47:57
Raised beds would suggest not going to be enough water for potatoes.... then if you do water them you could get split tubers...

I have grown spuds in them for past 2 years with very large crops ... because the beds are wide & deep, I think they just behave as if it were good garden area.
Maybe I was just lucky and it rained a lot.
Just checking this year if there was a better approach to planting for me ... I am very much a novice veg grower.

I do have an underground storage tank with several thousand gallons of rain water, so I should be able to keep them happy.

We never water our spuds but we have a pretty good water table, they must go down for it. Had the best harvest yet last year, using rock dust to feed  ;D

Welcome sargan.
My experience is that potatoes love poo is all forms  ;D  3 tonnes is an awful lot of s*******   :P

Quote from: sargan on March 28, 2012, 22:01:02

Quote from: chriscross1966 on March 28, 2012, 20:26:28
...
I might enquire as to why you're using raised beds for spuds though, it'll be the devils own job to harvest them unless you climb in or else take it down..

easy answ ..ground is unsuitable for growing anything, self build site on former Railway sidings. Soil is at least 20' down.
The raised beds are 6' wide and accessible from all sides.
Pick the spuds easily without bending your back, so actually easier than if at ground level.

Ahh suddenly becomes clear :-)... Coingratulations on making such an unpromising site productive :D
My issue with raised beds for spuds is usually that some spuds (certainly the older varieties like PFA) frequently throw tubers a long way frmo the main plant stem, an din a riased bed you might well find you have to pretty much empty it to be sure you got them all....