Potatoe Advice

[Bartonio]

HELLLPPPPPP i planted some potatoes this year for the first time

They are in potatoes bags and were growing great i planted them beginning of march, but some of the leaves are now turning yellow and some are turning black and crispy.

Is this normal or have i done something wrong?

Does this mean they are ready?

i cant remember the exact type of potatoe but it was a smaller new potatoe type

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Bartonio, that sounds like frost damage on the leaves. The plant should recover and grow more foliage but next year either plant the potatoes later so as to avoid the spring frosts or cover the plants with horticultural fleece or newspaper to avoid the leaves getting burnt by the frost. Early potatoes take about 12 weeks from planting to being ready to harvest.

[GreenHouse]

Have you been covering the shoots with compost as they grew to avoid frost getting to them?

[Bartonio]

erm no i haven't didnt know i had too, this is my first year growing anything so its all trial and error this year not expecting too much of a return until i learn all the knitty gritty

[GreenHouse]

No worries. What you need to do is put about 6" of soil in your bags, place 3/4 seeds on top of the soil then just cover them with an inch or so of soil. After a while, shoots will start to show. You cover the shoots & wait for them to show again. Keep this process going untill the bag is full of compost and let the seeds carry on growing out of the bag, they will flower then die off, tip the bag up & collect your bounty. P.S Don't forget to feed & water. Good luck.

[Bartonio]

ahhhh thats where i went wrong i just filled the bag straight away, obviousley got dodgy advice from the garden store, can i still expect an half decent bounty or am i now screwed

oh and i didnt use seeds i used chitted pots dont know if that makes a difference

oh and on another query ive got leeks growing too there shoots have just started to show do i completely cover those

[GreenHouse]

Did you put your seeds deep in the bags?........I have done both this year as a trial. I have planted 20 bags which will be earthed up as I explained. I have also used 2 raised beds which I have put the seeds 15"-18" deep in holes and just covered them. If I get the same crops from both methods, I will use beds only next year. Too much faffing checking the bags everyday. That's just my opinion.

[Bartonio]

no i didnt put them deep only a few inches again on the advice of the garden centre.

ive got another bag which i was planning on doing soon though

[GreenHouse]

Great!........So either do the 1st method I explained by earthing up everytime you see shoots or put 6" of compost in your bags then your seeds & fill up your bags. With bags or containers, I personally would earth them up. No reason why, just a personal choice. Maybe Lesley or David will come back & give their choices of growing tatties.

[DavidT]

Bartonio, what Greenhouse hasn`t explained is that the chitted potatoes you`ve used are SEED potatoes. That is what he means when referring to seed. Also, no, do not cover your leeks. Just saw that Greenhouse suggested I give some advice on growing these potatoes. Well, I will slightly contradict him. You only need 2 to 3 inches of compost in the bottom of the bag, you place your potatoes on this , chitted eyes uppermost. Add more compost to cover the spud by an inch or two. when the plant has grown through the compost by a couple of inches, cover again. Keep going until the bag is full and wait for the plants to mature, Then enjoy your fresh new potatoes.

[GreenHouse]

Cheers David.

[DavidT]

You are welcome.

[airconednightmare]

what is the difference between seed and normal tatties...i, in the first instants, used tatties from the shop which had sprouted and have subsequently used the the sprouters form my over winter supply...don;t think i have bought a tattie in about 3-4 year

[DavidT]

Whatever you are using to get a crop of spuds can be classed as "seed" potatoes.

[GreenHouse]

Originally Posted by airconednightmare

what is the difference between seed and normal tatties...i, in the first instants, used tatties from the shop which had sprouted and have subsequently used the the sprouters form my over winter supply...don;t think i have bought a tattie in about 3-4 year

The main difference is that seed potatoes are more disease resistant then shop bought. I also use both rather than throw them.

[airconednightmare]

why would 'seed pots' (not shop bought ones) be more disease resistant ?

are they still the product of continuous asexual reproduction or are they actually grown from the seeds of the tattie plant?

[GreenHouse]

I think it has something to do with the altitude at which they are produced.

potatoes - Solanum tuberosums

[Lesley Jay]

I am not a biologist so somebody put it right if I'm wrong!

Seed potatoes start off as plant tissue which then becomes the nuclear stock of pathogen free micro-plants in offically approved laboratories. The micro-plants are then grown on in an isolated protective environment in a pest free growing medium or hydroponically before planting out in the field. They are tested for diseases, viruses and aphids and grown for several generations before selecting the seed potatoes. Scotland is good for producing seed potatoes as the country is pretty free of diseases and aphids.

The 'botanical' seeds in the green seed ball that some potato varieties produce are normally used for breeding new varieties. They are also poisonous.

[GreenHouse]

For a none Biologist, it sounded pretty convincing to me. You mentioned Scotland, that may tie in with the altitude that I mentioned. Maybe it is high altitude that they are produced.