Small space potato growing

[Steve Randles]

One seed potato grown in a raised wooden crate, does not a conclusive test make.

Yes Durgan, I awknowledge the fact you have run a test, I also agree that potatos do not grow up the stem for your particular variety also, but its hardly conclusive is it?

There are well over 150 varieties of potato, have you run similar tests on all and did you have any controls, grow more than one seed of one variety, over a number of years?

Your rantings towards gardeners are all the more wild when you consider you have grown one potato only, for one test in one year.

Now lets consider the UK for a moment, we have hundreds of thousands of allotments which are plots of land supplied to joe public to grow fruit and veg on, the majority of these plant and grow potatoes, earth them up and enjoy the harvest later, they also know that earthing up gives them increased yield.

So we have hundreds of thousands of gardeners on one side planting and growing potatoes from 150+ varieties and Durgan on the other side with one potato from one variety - those scales are not really balanced are they?

Just because photographic proof does not exist, does not make it untrue. It just means no one has felt it important to carefully dig up plants and photograph as they go to prove what you disbelieve. Everyone reading this topic beieves Zigs photo of his Pink Fir Apples and the yield shown, everyone except you!

As the expression goes, poll your neck in and run some more tests this year, try the variety mentioned for yourself against your own controls. You never know, you may just learn something.

To everyone else I say that earthing up does increase yield at harvest time.

Steve Randles...

 

[ChanellG]

To everyone else I say that earthing up does increase yield at harvest time.

Steve Randles...

Steve, how often do you earth up your potatoes and at what height? I did it three times last year, but I started the potatoes late and summer got hot really fast so they may have not had much time to develop. I used a potato from the market, though I don't remember if it was organic.

 

[Steve Randles]

Steve, how often do you earth up your potatoes and at what height? I did it three times last year, but I started the potatoes late and summer got hot really fast so they may have not had much time to develop. I used a potato from the market, though I don't remember if it was organic.

I dig a trench out following a string line (set high above the ground) to get it straight, and it is dug one spade deep (9 inches), a couple of inches of well rotted manure (black and crumbly) go in the bottom of the trench along with a handful of Fish Blood and Bone for every 6-7 foot of trench, this is lightly forked over (mixed) and the seed potatoes placed as below. A few *slug pellets* are sprinkled on and the trench is filled in.

Now I earth up, yes I do this before the plants show above the ground to help avoid late frosts and it makes my potato bed work free until harvest time. I earth up as high as I can get it, 12 to 15 inches following the previously high set stringline. I will water well now, sprinkling the ridges so as not to destroy them and drowning the valleys and I probably will not water again.

We are on a clay loam soil here so it holds water well, and I am in the lake district so we get reasonable rainfall to make those lakes. Even in very dry spells I can dig down a couple of inches and find moist soil and its by doing this that I judge if they need watering.

First earlies: Plant 12 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. You wont get much of a earthed up ridge on these due to how close they are planted. 12 weeks (3 calender months) in the ground and they are done, you can start looking and possibly harvesting at 10 weeks

Second earlies: Plant 15 inches apart in rows 15 inches apart. These will earth up a bit higher and are ready after 16 weeks (4 calender months).

Main crop: Plant 20-24 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart. These will be ready when the haulms are dieing back.

I always start harvesting first ealies before they have flowered at around 10 weeks, I will either have a little furtle around the base of the plant carefully pulling away the soil to see what is there or just dig one haulm up to see, if there is nothing there I will look again in a weeks time. Main harvest of all the spuds is after they have flowered. Maincrops I will leave until the haulms are dieing back.

My Calender: A rough guide.

End of March, ALL potatoes are planted in one day or over two.
End of June, first ealies ready.
End of July, second earlies ready.
End of August, Maincrop ready.

I feed bi-weekly with homemade Comfrey tea.

At the start of June I water the whole crop with Nematodes (at the base of the plant, NOT over the top of them) and start to apply organic *slug pellets*.

There are many different ways to grow potatoes and every single gardener will do it differently, this is what works for me and gives me a well protected (from weather and bugs) and a very well fertilised crop, with the added bonus of not having to pay them much attention whilst they are growing.

*Slug pellets* When planting the seed potatoes I have learned to use 2 or 3 pellets per potato, this attracts and kills the slug, use anymore and it just deters them away somewhere else. The same applies to when I use them later in the season above ground, just 2 or 3 per plant is enough, every couple of days.

Steve...

 

[ChanellG]

I dig a trench out following a string line (set high above the ground) to get it straight...

I always start harvesting first earlies before they have flowered at around 10 weeks...

I feed bi-weekly with homemade Comfrey tea.

...At the start of June I water the whole crop with Nematodes (at the base of the plant, NOT over the top of them) and start to apply organic *slug pellets*.

Wow, that was a lot of very specific and detailed information! Thanks for sharing. I've been thinking about using comfrey tea; I used to drink it - is that the same comfrey? Something happened a while back and comfrey wasn't available on the shelves, though I can't remember why.

I'm also planning to try nematodes in garden #3 in the spring to combat grubs and other nasties. I really hate slugs, those are a bit of an issue at garden #2, while garden #1 is just common snails.

 

[Chuck]

Wow, that was a lot of very specific and detailed information! Thanks for sharing. I've been thinking about using comfrey tea; I used to drink it - is that the same comfrey? Something happened a while back and comfrey wasn't available on the shelves, though I can't remember why.

I'm also planning to try nematodes in garden #3 in the spring to combat grubs and other nasties. I really hate slugs, those are a bit of an issue at garden #2, while garden #1 is just common snails.

If the snails you see are shaped kind of like an ice cream cone they are beneficial snails and they eat other harmful snails and slugs. Look up decollate snail

 

[ChanellG]

If the snails you see are shaped kind of like an ice cream cone they are beneficial snails and they eat other harmful snails and slugs. Look up decollate snail

I wish. Just your regular garden variety annoyance, especially after it's been raining. I wish they would stick to eating algae. I guess I can be thankful they aren't those enormous snails that are causing all the problems in Florida. If I remember correctly from the news report, they even eat the paint off of houses.

 

[headfullofbees]

I plant a few first earlies in buckets in the greenhouse in late January,
The rest of the first earlies go in trenches in the ground, covered with black polythene in late Feb.
2nd earlies and maincrop go in trenches in the ground mid-late March, dependant upon soil temp.

 

[Steve Randles]

Comfrey tea is made directly from stewing the plant itself in water for a few weeks. I'll start at the beginning.

You need a specific plant, "Comfrey Bocking 14", this is a Russian variety of Comfrey and it is sterile so it does not set seed, this is important because it can spread itself about a bit and become a nuisance. It propagates from root or crown cuttings, the former is the most common sort you will find for sale.

Note it sends roots down very deep and is very difficult to get rid of when planted, so only plant it where you want it to grow, the smallest root piece left laying around will grow, now you understand why you want the sterile bocking 14 variety.

Some more info and pictures on my blog http://steve-randles.co.uk/PlotBlog/?p=635

Plenty of info on google about how to make Comfrey tea, it stinks but is bloomin brilliant

Steve...

 

[ChanellG]

...You need a specific plant, "Comfrey Bocking 14", this is a Russian variety of Comfrey and it is sterile so it does not set seed, this is important because it can spread itself about a bit and become a nuisance. It propagates from root or crown cuttings, the former is the most common sort you will find for sale.

I think someone in the plant swap group grows comfrey. I'll have to ask what variety. If I can locate that Russioan variety you mentioned, I'll have to get a couple tallish and wide containers for it. Can't have it taking over my little urban backyard.

 

[zigs]

It's a waterside/ flood meadow plant. Living on a Delta there's probably a load you could harvest from the wild Chanell, rather than taking up space in your own yard.

Just use the Ziggy method and put a hi viz jacket on, no one will question you

Plenty of info on google about how to make Comfrey tea, it stinks but is bloomin brilliant

Steve...

I love the smell of Comfrey tea in the morning It smells of the time I put some in a wine bottle and hid it where the mrs would find it.

Wonder how much she drank before she realised it wasn't wine?

 

[ChanellG]

It's a waterside/ flood meadow plant. Living on a Delta there's probably a load you could harvest from the wild Chanell, rather than taking up space in your own yard.

I love the smell of Comfrey tea in the morning It smells of the time I put some in a wine bottle and hid it where the mrs would find it.

Wonder how much she drank before she realised it wasn't wine?

I wouldn't brag about that if I were you! With the latest scare regarding internal use of comfrey causing liver problems...

You keep forgetting I live in the city. I'm going to ask the guy from the plant swap group what kind he grows and if he has any root to spare. I read something today that said the crowns don't perform well when you transplant them.

 

[zigs]

I see most of the area around you is nature reserves, wouldn't get away with picking from there anyway.

 

[ChanellG]

I see most of the area around you is nature reserves, wouldn't get away with picking from there anyway.

If I knew what to look for there are probably a few places where I could get away with it, but it's the city so you have to be concerned about the effects of auto exhaust and pesticides and so forth. I will probably just order some if I can find someone in the plant group who has it to share.

 

[zigs]

Fair play

It's very hairy with big leaves

 

[Chuck]

Fair play

It's very hairy with big leaves

I just don't know if we can trust what a potato photoshopper says. Who knows? Even those onions might be radishes