trying tatties for the first time this year in large pots, i'd say they've been in for about 4 weeks now and 2 shoots are coming through. do i just leave them both to do the business??? i was expecting one for some reason :-? :-?
You can have several from each depending on how you planted them. Some people plant the small potatoes whole rather than cutting them up. If they were whole you can have a bunch coming up, if cut you can still have several for each piece. Mine are in bloom so shortly I can start digging new potatoes for dinner. Just leave them alone for now and let them grow. Watch for potato bugs though.
thank you mart. i didn't realise you could cut them up?? i just put them in whole. can't wait to see the results. i'll make sure i do some reading on the bug issue :-D
If your pot is outside you may want to add soil to the pot so that the leaves are completely covered. This will protect from freezing damage (if that should suddenly happen). Also I earth-up my spuds several times before they begin flowering to make the stem as long as possible between the "seed potato" and the flowers. The logic here is that you get a longer portion of stem underground, and tubers will form along it-- thus you can have more spuds to harvest at the end of the growing season. Just for my own interest: What type of spuds did you plant this year?
Yes, you can chunk the potatoes into several sections leaving 2 or 3 eyes on each chunk. Then plant each section cut side down. The eyes produce the sprouts that you see. Same as when you keep a potato too long and they start to sprout in your kitchen. I have tried adding soil and leaving them alone and if the soil is well worked and loose, I could tell no difference in yield if I added soil or not. So I do not do anything other than keep the bugs off and always have an excellent potato crop. In another week or two I can start taking a few out and I will have some new potatoes for dinner.
thanks guys. i bought 2 varieties this year, albert bartlett rooster, and charlotte. all i've planted so far is the charlotte, which is a nice salad potato. . . i tried to leave enough soil out of the pot so i could earth them up a couple of times, i read for every 8 inches they grow i should add another 3 inch of compost??
I don`t think that is a critical issue since I do not add soil or compost at all. Just use your best judgement on how much to add.
thanks again mart . . might try what i read in one pot, and what you said in another. not expecting great things from my first attempt . . . do you feed them at all??
I agree with Mart, that it isn't critical....my motivation is pure greed to have as big a harvest as possible. hahaha. What am I like, eh?
I don't worry about hilling mine after I plant them. I see the potato farmers in the area don't go back in their fields, so I figure, "why bother?" so I don't. I just try to keep the weeds out.
Ours are fertilized two or three times during the growing season but if you have good compost you might add a bit of commercial fert. or if you are going organic,, dry manure mixed in the soil and watered well. I use both. Manure worked in the whole garden and commercial during growing time.
Is it too late to plant potatoes!!!! I really would like to know if its to late to plant potatoes in containers. Please help
I don`t see why you can`t plant them now as long as you can keep them watered. Mine will be ready to dig in another week or so !
