potatoes.... when to plant?

[gtek]

hi there - i'm new here, so i'm looking for bit of advice.

i'v been following the potatoe threads, but i'm still not too sure about a couple of things....

i'm located in east midlands of UK, and i'm not sure when I should start the potatoes going... do I need to wait till the last frost, or can they be put in now?the local market is selling seeded potatoes ready to go - I'm going to do my own, but wonder if they are selling them here, then is it the right time to get them going?

this is my first time growing potatoes - i will be doing them in the bucket/bin way described in other places in the forum - as i have very limited space, and live in a citycentre..... doesanyone have any hints they can give me to maximise the yeild?

....also, i'm doing brambles, and raspberrys for the first time - they are from 50cm market bought plants.

i'm hoping all of this works, but as its my first time i'm a little unsure!?

cheers,
mike.

[red]

hi Mike - welcome

traditionally the time to plant spuds is good Friday. Having said that, Easter is stupidly early this year, so I am going for about when Easter was last year, as that was what we did and it worked! - so... consider planting them in April.

you should buy your seed potatoes now and put them to chit. so thats playing them eye side up in something like egg boxes in direct light, ideally not in the sun. (my windowsils are covered with them!) I haven't planted in a bucket before.. but hopefully someone who has will be along soon.

[gtek]

thanks for the advice Red -

much appreciated.... i'll start them chitting then, and plant around easter.

cheers.

[gtek]

i'v got my brambles and rasps outside just now.... do you think they'll be ok?

[Cheezy]

Brambles and rasp's will be OK outside:
I'm assuming you will be planting these in the ground?, if so you should wait for a good day when the soil is a bit warmer and not too wet,though not critical. This should be done before the end of March.

Also I'm assuming these are pot plants and not bare rooted, if bare rooted you should douse in a bucket of water for a few hours and "heel" the roots in to loose compost/soil-sand. And wait for a good day.

Once planted you need to cut them back to about 20 cm, this will encourage new growth. Also unless the rasps are an autumn fruiting variety, they will not fruit until next year on this years growth.

Chitting usually takes 6 weeks

[gtek]

cheers cheesy - the rasps and branbles are in pots, as i dont have any land (just concrete)..... i bought them potted and repotted them - they are outside just now.... i'm hoping they'll be ok.

i'll get the potatoes chitting now, as you say 6 weeks - should be ready to plant mid april.

my 'bin' is around 70cm wide - iv read diffrent places that some people would put 3,4 or 5 chittled potatoes in.... does anyone have any advice on how many i should do?

are shop bought potatoes ok to use?

ps - sorry about all the questions - i want to get this going as well as i can for my first crop.

cheers.

[Cheezy]

Shop bought are OK to use....only issue might be that they are usually heavily sprayed to keep down blight,scab etc. So although the potato might look OK, it might have a disease that has been suppressed. It's better to get proper seed potatoes which are certified.
Also if you do buy shop ones don't get this new seasons potatoes, as they are too fresh and will take an age to chitt etc.

I have done bin grown pots, the big problem is water. Even when it's raining, because the leaves dominate the bin, hardly any water gets in, for a really big crop your going to have to water,water,water. 4 to 5 will be OK, the more you put in the smaller the size of the spuds though.
Using a slightly acidic soil mix will help prevent scab.
Remember to earth up your crop. Wait for the stems to get up to 15cm high then add more soil/compost etc, repeat this a second time, this will ensure you get more spuds, and stops them going green.

Back to raspberry's you might struggle in pots, and again they need loads of water. I would suggest if they is any chance you could make a raised bed , even directly on the concrete, minimum 20-30 cm high, this will be much better, help catch water etc.

Also brambles will stand a bit of shade so a north facing wall is not out of the question, they will just fruit a bit later. Place one on a south wall one north and you will prolong the fruiting season.

[chadspad]

Digging up this old thread.................

Ive got some huge potatoes that I want to plant. Each eye has a sprout coming from it. Can I cut the potato into pieces where each sprout is coming out our do I have to leave it whole?

[pelmetman]

We are in Lincolnshire and we have planted our Charlotte Potatoes today.

One tip if you are growing potatoes in pots, like already mentioned watering will be a problem. If you get a piece of plastic drain pipe, drill holes in it and place the pipe upright in the pot, you can pour water into the pipe and it'll come out of the sides this should help a bit. We have, in the past, grown them in pots in the greenhouse for Christmas.
Good luck.

[chadspad]

OK thanks for that.

Still want to know though if I can cut the potato up to use each sprout or if the spud needs to stay whole. Anyone know please?

[Odsox]

Yes you can cut potatoes but do it when you plant them.
That way they grow away quickly otherwise they could rot if done earlier.

It's an old trick to get more than you would have, any spud bigger than a hens egg was always sliced in half with preferably an equal amount of eyes on each half.

[chadspad]

Brilliant Thanks very much!!

[elvgrengirl]

Hey, sorry for digging out this old thread, but don't want to start a new one.

I was clearing ouzt the presses today and found some potatoes wit huge sprouts in the back they must have been forgotten anyways I was wondering if I could plant them and how would i go about it? I'm pretty new to anything having to do with gardening, so I'd be really grateful for some easy instructions :)

[Cloud]

I'd give it a go - nothing ventured, etc...

I think I read someplace that long shoots are not good and should be removed before planting. Perhaps someone more wise could enlightn us both :)

Some of our spuds planted last month still have only a few leaves - while another lot of another variety look like they need earthing up for the second time.

[elvgrengirl]

well I ended up planting 2 of them yesterday and just wait and see if they'll take. Trial and Error :) if it doesn't work, no harm done and I'll know better next time :)