All leaves but few potatoes !

[mr benn]

Hi guys - newbie here !

I have been trying to grow some potatoes in a smallish area in my garden for a couple of years. In both years I have had nice tall green shoots / leaves, but few potatoes.

Our soil is very clayey (such a word ?) , so I made a raised bed of about 6 inches, and filled it with a mixture of new soil / bought compost . Its a fairly sunny spot, with good shelter from wind.
I have also dug in the odd vegetable peeling. Last year i did add some fertilizer a few weeks before.

I just wonder if Im fighting a losing battle here , and should try another spot, though I dont have much room elsewhere. Maybe a container - though again space maybe an issue. With containers and grow bags can you only put a few in there, so is it really worth it ?

I have bought some seed potatoes (maris piper I think) and Im currently chitting them on.

Thanks for any advice.

[johnmichael]

Harvest when tops start to die down and water well during growth.

[colin1957]

Hi, I had the same problem as you. Last couple of years was poor with really good plant growth but very few potatoes, but the year before the last two i had bumper crops. maybe the last two years was bad for potatoes in some areas, other than that i don't know

[mr benn]

Is it too late to still dig in some compost ? I plan to put the seeds in in about 3 weeks or so ?


I dont think I did a lot of watering , but wouldnt the green shoots have died off if lack of water anyway ?

The same are I also planted some carrot seeds which did useless, so maybe it is the soil.

Will try one more year ! (and Im aware of the advise about not using the same area all the time, but... )

[johnmichael]

Originally Posted by mr benn

Is it too late to still dig in some compost ? I plan to put the seeds in in about 3 weeks or so ?


I dont think I did a lot of watering , but wouldnt the green shoots have died off if lack of water anyway ?

The same are I also planted some carrot seeds which did useless, so maybe it is the soil.

Will try one more year ! (and Im aware of the advise about not using the same area all the time, but... )

Not much water needed for good green potato tops but plenty required for a good harvest.Still o/k to add plenty of compost.I dont have much luck with carrots either mainly due to root fly attacks,my parsnips crop well though.Watering the soil rather than the green shoots helps to prevent potato blight.

[vegetable-gardener]

Keep adding compost and grass clippings and maybe add some sand to lighten and drain it. Also turn it over so that it starts to dry out. If it's still heavy put some drains in.

My dad used to say that potatoes were a good crop to improve the soil - but he didn't say if you got a lot of potatoes from it

[tomterm8]

Did you chit the potatoes? That can help. Beyond that, I think their are two things that can really damage potato crops. First is lack of water. You need to water very regularly. Second is lack of pollinators. That's an unusual problem which was unheard of a few years ago, but is getting a little more common in some places, because bees have had various illnesses. You can deal with it by having flowers in your garden as well as plants, so attracting more bees.

[mr benn]

Thanks Tom - I have loads of flowers. Bees and Butterflies were a plenty last year which is good.
Yes I chit the potatoes on - they are currently in a tray as we speak in a warm well lit room, chittign away !

Myabe its lack of water, as I thought it didnt need much - maybe we had pleny of rain last summer - I cant recall to be honest.

Can you add the grass cuttings during the summer even tho the spuds are in the soil ?

[vegetable-gardener]

Yes you can add grass clippings to the side of the plants and then dig it in when you dig the potatoes out.

[Kimby]

Originally Posted by mr benn

Will try one more year ! (and Im aware of the advise about not using the same area all the time, but... )

Really it's a case that your plot will be more likely to carry a risk of disease if you keep re-planting in the same spot. Spuds are prone to disease at the best of times after all, any disease in the soil will be carried over to the next years seed potatoes. Rotation planting isn't just suggested to be a pain in the behind - these are time tested methods handed down the generations.

[malcolmx]

potatoes are all about earthing up they come from leaf joints so unless you can earth up too about 18" above ground level and can have rows abour 2ft apart they will be small .if your plot is small new potatoes in builders bags is the way to go