Talkback: Chitting potatoes - Talkback

Gardeners' World Web User

03/02/2008 at 06:18

we have just got our allotment so we are very new so any advice will be welcome,

Gardeners' World Web User

04/02/2008 at 20:17

To get around the rotation in my two raised beds and to ease my back, I have been very successful with using old car tyres. Take the first tyre and fill with compost and plant the potatoes. As the stems grow put another car tyre on the first one and fill with compost. Keep this going until you have about 4 car tyres and keep the compost well watered.

When it comes to harvesting you just remove the tyres one by one and all your lovely potatoes are there to be gathered. No backbreaking hoeing up or digging. The spent compost can either be recycled on the compost or sometimes I just lay over flower beds to improve the soil. I do not believe in using the same compost two seasons running.

Gardeners' World Web User

21/02/2008 at 19:50

we have an allotment, and are constantly fighting bindweed, in large amounts, can anyone help please!!!!!!!!!!! thank you

Gardeners' World Web User

26/02/2008 at 20:20

In reply to Jean, the only way to get rid of weeds such as bindweed is to carefully spray Glysophate on its leaves. Best time to do this is when the sap is starting to rise (say mainly springtime) & also just before the plant goes into dormancy (before winter). The poison gets absorbed through the leaves and taken down to the roots and then withers and dies. The chemical is harmless to the soil and only affects the plant its sprayed onto. It wont work if you then pull the leaves off in a frantic moment to get rid of them after spraying, its best to leave the stuff to do its thing. I garden and grow veg organically, and its the only thing I use when I have to resort to chemicals. Happy spraying and check which way the winds blowing.

Gardeners' World Web User

03/03/2008 at 19:43

Hi a few years ago I had problems with bindweed, I used roundup mixed as per instuctions but did not spray it on the bindweed. I put some of the weedkillier in a glass jar and put some of the plant into the jar and let the bindweed absorb the weed killer, this seemed to have better results than spraying. (stablise the jar with bricks to stop it tipping over). Good luck.

Gardeners' World Web User

11/03/2008 at 21:27

I am worried about my potatoes as after planting them out they had to endure a severe frost; could anyone advise as to whether I should dig them up and start again, or will they pick up? I would be very grateful for some help. Thank you in advance!

Gardeners' World Web User

28/03/2008 at 17:10

I'm just about to try growing potatoes for the first time in a plastic container. I will only need about a third of my seed potatoes. Can I store the remainder for next year safely or is it inevitable that they will go off?

Gardeners' World Web User

28/03/2008 at 19:21

It can also be useful to stick a few twiggy branches or canes in the ground where the bindweed is growing, and wait for it to climb up them before spraying.That way, the weed is less spread out over the plot. Good luck. Whatever you do, don't rotovate the ground. that will just spread it around.

Gardeners' World Web User

05/04/2008 at 12:16

Hi, is it ok to seed shop bought potatoes - I'm seeding some now but not sure if it is safe to do, thanks mel.

Gardeners' World Web User

07/04/2008 at 11:37

Hi, I've just planted my very first lot of potatoes - how do i know when they are ready to harvest as I've never done this before. julie

Gardeners' World Web User

09/04/2008 at 09:51

Hi Mel, they say you should not plant shop bought potatoes that have sprouted as they can lead to a diseased crop. Yet I planted some last year and I got some tasty potatoes, yet not very many on each plant. I would opt for the potatoes from the garden centre that are specifically for the job.

Gardeners' World Web User

11/04/2008 at 16:08

Hi I'm new to this veg growing lark, tried some toms last year which came out well , I bought some new potatoes to try - charlotte which I think seem to be popular, any advice would be appreciated, was hoping to grow in big pots/buckets - how many seed pots per bucket? and how do i know when their ready... is it a case of rummage around in the pot and hope for the best? Help !!!

Gardeners' World Web User

17/04/2008 at 23:13

I visited a neighbours greenhouse on the allotment. He showed me plants(sweetcorn) which had been eaten by mice. He therefore covered up the rest of the plants and put plastic trays on top of plastic trays. When he went to show me his potatoes by lifting a tray a mouse shot out. These trays were sitting on shelving a metre high. All the potatoes had been chewed away. All new to me. I am just glad I do not have a greenhouse and am having to grow plants in my kitchen. sally (first month of allotment ownership.)

Gardeners' World Web User

22/04/2008 at 20:57

Hi, I stupidly left my potatoes outside and they have gotten wet. Can I still plant these or will they be rotten now? I'd appreciate any help.

Gardeners' World Web User

27/04/2008 at 21:06

We were told by an elderly man to dose our soil with Jeyes fluid to get rid of keel slugs etc which got into our potatos last year, do you think this is safe to use?

Gardeners' World Web User

09/05/2008 at 17:40

To all those potato growers, I have planted many seeded supermarket potatoes with great success, especially charlotte potatoes.

Most recently I have begun laying down a few layers of newspapers in the potato beds before lying the seed potatoes on top and another layer of paper on top. this works very well in both feeding them and keeping them cleaner and they tend to be bigger.

Gardeners' World Web User

01/06/2008 at 20:01

Please don't fool yourselves that Roundup is safe or biodegradable. Where these claims have been challenged in court (eg in the state of New York) the manufacturer has had to stop describing it as "biodegradable" or "environmentally friendly". Research has found it to persist in soil for a considerable time. It has been found to be toxic to many life forms and has been implicated in appalling health effects in communities that live near sprayed fields. Please do research before using chemicals and don't rely on advertising (the label on the bottle) for the truth.

Gardeners' World Web User

10/06/2008 at 13:35

My potatoes were planted early March and are now over a meter tall with small flowers appearing. I thought they should be ready by now but I had a rummage (they are planted in large plastic pots) yesterday to find two the size of peas! Have I done something wrong/do they take longer? I piled up the soil to protect the crop from sunlight a few times over the weeks until it got to the top of the containers.

Gardeners' World Web User

11/06/2008 at 19:19

I tried potatoes in tyres and for someone with limited space it was good for some nice summer new pots but not many. I think the problem was - to water or not - too much and they rot - too little and you don't get a good crop. any ideas as to when to water and how much?

Gardeners' World Web User

13/06/2008 at 12:42

My now very tall potato plants have keeled over, although I have been earthing them up regularly. They haven't flowered yet and are proving difficult to stake, any suggestions very welcome!