I have 2 potato barrels and 5 large rigid containers, plus 6 grow bags for potatoes, if the worse comes to the worse and i need to grow potatoes maybe indoors can anyone suggest a planting regime that would give me a continous crop of potatoes year round perhaps using indoors in the winter and a container garden in the better months.
many thanks.
Joanne
Growing potatoes in containers for year long crop.
Re: Growing potatoes in containers for year long crop.
I assume you want "new" potatoes throughout the year.
First early potatoes take roughly 3 months to produce usable sized tubers.
I have never grown potatoes in one of those potato barrels but I understand that you just pick the ones that are ready and leave the rest to grow bigger, so can't comment on how many tubers you get from one plant.
It really depends of course how many potatoes you are likely to eat, but if one plant keeps you going for a week and perhaps one barrel/bag provides a month's supply, you need to start off a new barrel every month ... less in summer and more in winter.
The biggest problem will be getting sprouted seed potatoes in the summer as they are 'programmed' to stay dormant from summer to winter, although I think you can now buy specially treated early potatoes from some seed companies to plant in the autumn.
If I'm wrong and you just want potatoes, new or otherwise, then plant one barrel with first earlies, a couple more with second earlies and the rest with maincrop, and then earlies again in the autumn .. about September (as above).
Sounds like growing potatoes on a production line.
First early potatoes take roughly 3 months to produce usable sized tubers.
I have never grown potatoes in one of those potato barrels but I understand that you just pick the ones that are ready and leave the rest to grow bigger, so can't comment on how many tubers you get from one plant.
It really depends of course how many potatoes you are likely to eat, but if one plant keeps you going for a week and perhaps one barrel/bag provides a month's supply, you need to start off a new barrel every month ... less in summer and more in winter.
The biggest problem will be getting sprouted seed potatoes in the summer as they are 'programmed' to stay dormant from summer to winter, although I think you can now buy specially treated early potatoes from some seed companies to plant in the autumn.
If I'm wrong and you just want potatoes, new or otherwise, then plant one barrel with first earlies, a couple more with second earlies and the rest with maincrop, and then earlies again in the autumn .. about September (as above).
Sounds like growing potatoes on a production line.
Tony
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
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Thomzo
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 4311
- Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:42 pm
- Facebook Name: Zoe Thomas
- Location: Swindon, South West England
Re: Growing potatoes in containers for year long crop.
I've experimented with growing potatoes indoors but every time they have become infested with aphids really quickly and I end up chucking them out. Do let me know if you can find a way around this without spraying with chemicals. The pots tend to be a bit big to carry outside to wash the aphids off.
Cheers
Zoe
Cheers
Zoe
Re: Growing potatoes in containers for year long crop.
I have grown a few crops indoors with the grow bags and use vine weevil control spray, i have not found a way round it, one bag i kept indoors all the time and it never got them, but the ones that did i always put out for a few hours sun, but now i give a quick spray.Thomzo wrote:I've experimented with growing potatoes indoors but every time they have become infested with aphids really quickly and I end up chucking them out. Do let me know if you can find a way around this without spraying with chemicals. The pots tend to be a bit big to carry outside to wash the aphids off.
Cheers
Zoe
A note on the big barrels, you can buy machine rollers that fit under washing machines and the like, so i plan to use these small sets of wheels to move them about, the growbags have handles. But don't drag them, as they will wear out underneath and go into holes.
For chemical free aphid control look up
www.pestfree-products.co.uk