economy of growing potatoes?

[Thurston Garden]

I would recommend growing a few early tatties (as a couple of other posters have suggested) if spaceis tight. There's little to beat freshly dug early tatties with butter on them and a glass of milk on the side

Your shop may be selling local farm tatties but you can be sure they are plentiful maincrop ones (that's why they are cheap - simple supply and demand pointy head economics) and they will have been sprayed with fungicide as a seed tattie, drenched in a pre emergance weedkiller at planting time and then sprayed for blight every 6 weeks throughout the growing season and then have the shaws/haulms burnt off with acid before harvesting (wander by a tattie field in September and you will see the scull and crossbones warning sign on the field gate!). Commercial tatties varieties are selected for disease resistance & bulk/weight, certainly not flavour!

Seed might be expensive but as Stoney says, you can choose the best varieties, be they organic, local or heritage. You can save your own seed too - just hold back the smaller tatties and keep the frost free until early spring and then bring into the light and chit in the normal manner. Commercial tattie farmers will buy in fresh seed every 4 or 5 years but I know a local guy who has had his own seed on the go for ever.

[Cassiepod]

I have to agree it's not exactly the economics that drives me but the satisfaction of finding that one potato has generated a crop of more potatoes, it's simple but immensely satisfying. Plus you don't have to remember to buy them, they're there in the garden ready to go. If you haven't got any it the fridge you run down the garden to dig them up. Convenience in the extreme! ( but I know I'm certifiably mad anyway!)

[contadino]

I bought 35 kilos of seed potatoes for EUR 18, and expect the yield to be somewhere close to 900 kilos. In the market, spuds are usually EUR 2 per 5 kilo bag, so.. 900 kg/5 kg = 180 sacks @ EUR 2 = EUR 360 less the cost of seed is EUR 342 profit (if we were to sell them, which we won't.)

However, for us space is not an issue, nor is the effort. I also agree that they're quite a satisfying crop to grow.

[Cheezy]

I bought 35 kilos of seed potatoes for EUR 18, and expect the yield to be somewhere close to 900 kilos. In the market, spuds are usually EUR 2 per 5 kilo bag, so.. 900 kg/5 kg = 180 sacks @ EUR 2 = EUR 360 less the cost of seed is EUR 342 profit (if we were to sell them, which we won't.)

However, for us space is not an issue, nor is the effort. I also agree that they're quite a satisfying crop to grow.

It's all a matter of space. I love growing m' own spuds and have done in a limited way for years. This year I decided rather than go for an early and a main , just a larger amount of main (Lady Balfour)
Back to ecomomics, it does work out if you can buy a lot of seed pots. If you havent got the space you have to buy small quantities , which is where they make the money.
I bought 3kg of lady balfour, using the allotment discount we get through Dobbies for £6.00 (5% discount!) I've planted two 5m rows, and will have enough to put into 3 potato planters.
For me I love to grow spuds, even if it's just a few.

[lsm1066]

I've never bought seed potatoes. I just leave one to start sprouting then peel it and throw the peel wherever I want it to grow. It's never failed me yet.

Lynne

[Brod]

Well we've just bought 2 25 kg bags of end of storage spuds (started to go a bit wrinkley) at a bargain price. Some of the small to medium sized spuds were starting to sprout and have gone into the garden, the bigger ones we're eating. having your cake and eating it to