Potatoes are sowed

allotment man · Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:02 pm Post subject: Potatoes are sowed

So I threw caution to the wind and sowed all my potatoes with good high drills. 1 drill of early home guards well chitted and three drills of latest. Golden wonders, records and roosters. They weren't chitted so well, but feck it. It's to freeze tonight but the rain at the weekend should see off the last of the frost. Anyways I hope it works out. It's done now anyways.

Nozebleed · Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:25 pm Post subject:

fair play...id say they,ll be fine. ive placed my main crop spuds under lights to get them chitted..they,ve been in the greenhouse for about 3 weeks with no sign of growth...im not sure if using artificial lights to chit spuds is a good idea...but sure we,ll find out soon enough.

mustaffatap · Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:23 pm Post subject: Re: Potatoes are sowed

apprentice · Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 8:18 am Post subject:

how are things...i put down spuds into raised beds...i am only starting out so i just used compost..the spuds are flying up...the stalks themselves in parts are about 6-7 inches off the top of the beds...just wondering now as they are thriving and all i have uses is compost is there anything i can put onto them to help them continue as they are..really want them to turn out good...cheers

tippben · Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 12:32 am Post subject:

Well, like others have said, you need to earth them up with your compost, and water regularly. Fish blood and bone, proprietary potato fertiliser, seaweed liquid feed, or nettle/comfrey brew will all help. If you've filled your beds right up, and it's hard to earth up, don't worry. You'll get fewer spuds, and smaller, but spuds are an excellent crop for developing your new beds into a proper soil, and stopping weeds. WARNING. At the first sign of blight, cut of all the haulms (the green parts above ground) and get rid of them - burn or bin, don't compost them. If you get it, and don't act immediately, you'll have trouble growing spuds, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines etc for many years.

pollen jim · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 11:42 am Post subject:

not too sure about all that feeding, maybe the ocasional feed, or you might just get all above the ground, and very little spuds, might be wrong, but anything i read or seen suggest this Shocked

Gautama · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 5:17 am Post subject:

Not too sure about all that regular watering either. "Little and often... NOT" is my approach. If there's rain then don't water. If the soil is getting dry then thoroughly saturate the soil. Get that water down deep. If the water goes deep the roots will follow it.
Light watering keeps the roots near the surface.

I wouldn't worry too much about blight either. Keep some blight mix on the shelf but don't think about blight 'til you hear a blight warning. Too many gardeners are put off growing potatoes by blight paranoia.