[brennan.jm]

hi has anybody sown organic potato orla

[corfiot]

Yes,they were some of the finest tasting potatoes i have had in years---growing them again next year,i picked early and also left some in the ground---still beautiful.

[brennan.jm]

[nemo]

i have been growing orla potatoes in our poly tunnel and outside in the open garden, they taste fabulous and i wouldn't grow any other early potatoes.i get the seed from fruit hill farm in bantry.i usually sow the poly tunnel crop on the 20th of January and i usually start harvest them about the bank holiday in may (5th of may ).i cover the bed with a light blanket after sowing the seeds until the weather heats up a bit.then it is removed

[brennan.jm]

nemo do you have to use any sprays
as i dont want to spray at all
also do you think these spuds would grow year round
as it seems some people have experience of growing
spuds all year round

[nemo]

orla potatoes are early potatoes so they are usally harvested before the blight starts.i grow orla potatoes only as early as they wont store well.main crop potatoes are harvested after the early ones.i do use blight spray (bluestone) for my arran victory and sante potatoes .but last year i grew sarop mira potatoes these are late main crop potatoes i didnt have to spray this variety as they are blight resistant.so i just planted them and earthed them up and harvested them in november.the main crop and late maincrop will stroe well i am still eating the arran victory and sarpo mira.they must be stores in a dark cool place.a friend planted some collen and orla potatoes in his polly tunnel last august and he had early potatoes for his christmass dinner.
blue stone blight spray is a mixture of washing soda copper and water.
fruit hill farm sell a liquid organic blight spray but it works out expensive that's why i use blue stone. i know copper is a poison but we have been using it for years in plumbing .it is safer then the lead pipe the copper replaced.nobody can grow potatoes 12 months of the year because the light levels are too low in winter time.but by selecting the right varieties it is possible to be eating your own potatoes 12 months of the year. i am no expert i am just learning my self.just sow first earlies then second earlies eat these fresh out of the ground . then sow main crop followed by late main crop store the main and late main crop potatoes properly then enjoy them
i hope this helps
regards
nemo

[jimmy mac]

I love a source for all these seed potatoes in the midlands thanks

[James Kilkelly]

jimmy mac, the Irish potato marketing boards contact details are mentioned in this thread Availability of Seed Potatoes in 20-25 Kg bags
Worth giving them a call for details of your nearest distributor.

[nemo]

there are several agents for fruit hill farm all over ireland go on their web site and find your nearest agent..From them the seed potatoes come in 2.5kg bags and can be bought in 25kg bags
www.fruithillfarm.com
they also do mail order
best of luck
nemo

[brennan.jm]

nemo how high do orla grow in a poly and did you spray the sarop mira at all. do both these spuds give a good crop

[nemo]

the stalks of the orla potato plants weren't very high maybe up to 18 inches high

last year i plant orla potatoes on the 20th of january and we harvested our first crop of orlas on the 5th of may in our polly tunnel.i didnt have to spray the orla potatoes for blight because they were indoor and they were eaten before the blight could trouble them.each orla stalk had up to 7 -10 good size potatoes

i didnt spray the sarpo potatoes at all and they produced more potatoes than any of the other varities i grew.each stalk had up to 12-20 good size potatoes but i didn't harvest them until November because the stalks were still green until then

i use seaweed and cow manure to grow my potatoes. i use home made nettle and seaweed liquid feeds every two weeks or so

i use bluestone and washing soda as blight spray
i don't use diatane any more because it is a growth promoter and is not suitable for organic gardening
regards
nemo

[James Kilkelly]

No spray used on my Sarpo's either Nemo.
Here is how some turned out....

[brennan.jm]

nemo this is great information. last year i made my own mini polytunnel to start dahila flowers it worked quite well. however it was diffcult to move the plants as they were so big. i was thinking of trying these orlas under the mini tunnel. i have,nt sprayed anything in my garden in two years and it is so much better i would hope to put the spuds in the ground and only water if required and leave the rest to nature. the tunnel is quite simple steel pegs driven in the ground with two inch wavin forming the curves. i then draped the plastic over extending out along the round cover the edges with heavy mulch and pulled tight. might try this over a raised bed for the orlas

[Gardening Daddy]

I have acquired a wooden container originally for transporting granite rocks (approx 2-3 foot high by 5 foot in length and 3 foot in width/depth) which I plan to drill drainage holes in and fill with a layer of small stones followed by well rotted manure mixed with top soil and finished with a layer compost to grow my first crop of potatoes in. My question is, can the soil be used again for a different crop, possible broad beans or other veg not of the Nightshade family next year? I will of course refresh the soil with more manure and fertilisers before planting in again.

My other question is, will this container be tall enough to plant the potatoes in and mound the soil up as the tubers grow to their full height? From reading Nemo's post it sounds like Orlas might the way to go seeing as they only grow to 18 inches, not the highest yield but I guess it's a case of quality over quantity here. Is this height unique to Orlas or am I getting unduly concerned over nothing?

[Foxylock]

Sure it would be similar to a raised bed except it has a bottom. Great idea to recycle it and grow some veg. It is difficult to earth up to potatoes in a container though because if the soil is too near the top to begin with as you add more it just spills over the side and exposes the tubers. I learned this lesson the hard way However if you keep the soil down a bit from the top you should be fine. Best of luck with it.