Talkback: Growing potatoes and onions - Page 2 - Talkback

10/04/2009 at 09:08

Hi I have terrible clay/peat soil so have decided to grow onions , beans and peas in pots and have bought a growbag for my seed potatoes. When I have read about growing in bags only so much soil is used until shoots appear then keep topping up, how does this work with a veg growbag, I feel stupid here but do I empty some of it out and keep somewhere to then top up? Also how many potatoes do I put in, there are about 12 in my pack.

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17/04/2009 at 07:35

Hi, Bunnysgarden I bought 2 special bags for potatoes. I've put half of one into a large Ikea bag with holes in the bottom and planted 5 small potatoes in it and 5 in the original bag. I'll use the other one to 'earth up' as the shoots start to show. I remember Monty Don and Chris Beardshaw planting potatoes in bags and the put 3 or 4 only into each bag. Good luck!

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19/04/2009 at 07:41

Thanks cacamoon, il try that

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24/04/2009 at 18:52

I have three raised beds and am about to start planting what can I grow together in each bed please help, we are determined to get this right and make a success of it. All advise welcome.

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29/04/2009 at 12:25

Any ideas on keeping the water in the water butt (500lts) from smelling, apart from keep emptying it out every so often. regards.

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07/05/2009 at 15:28

Hi all I'm also new to allotment gardening - took over a very overgrown plot last Oct, worked like a mad thing digging one end in prep for my first crop. I have my potatoes in also and my first earlies are doing well - already earthed them up 3 times but Im now running out of earth in the raised bed. What should I do? At what point do you stop earthing up to cover the shoots? Also are there any 'no no's' as to what can go together in one bed? all advice gratefully received!

Gardeners' World Web User

10/05/2009 at 17:14

hi, we have just got our first allotment plot. my husband has spent the last 2 weekends digging it over and rotivating the earth. i finally got over there with our children today and we planted runner beans and beetroot. we are very new to this as we live in a flat and are not used to gardening. any advise would be welcomed. thanks

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12/05/2009 at 16:08

Hi im 13 and i love gardening, does anyone have any advice on growing potatoes ?

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13/05/2009 at 15:53

Hi Benjamin Take a look at Monty's video on this website. It's about growing early spuds but the principles are the same: http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/potatoes-planting-early/ There's also some stuff about earthing them up too: http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/potatoes-earth-up/ Rachsabin keep on earthing up as long as you can - into June if you've got any soil left! I usually only manage two or three times myself!

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21/05/2009 at 17:12

Have planted maxine,swift and charlotte potatoes in hessian sacks all doing very well but something is nibbling eating outer leaves? will this do them any harm? have put slug pellets around them lots of dead snails?but i think something that is not interested in slug pellets is having a good munch no rabbits in this area? any ideas fellow first potatoe growers?

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06/06/2009 at 07:15

My potatoes are growing well (about 8inch) now after being topped up to top of their bags, bins. When will i know they are ready? will they flower? Very new to veg gardening.

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06/06/2009 at 21:19

I've been growing "swift" new potatos in grow bags. I cut the bag in half to make two large 'pots' and put in a couple of seed potatos. And it works really well. We had eleven good sized new spuds from a bag last weekend. after emptying and checking I put the compost back into the bag and sow a few carrots in there. I get two crops from my grow bag. And compost can then go back into a raised bed. I've been doing this for a couple of years and its always been sucessful.

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07/06/2009 at 12:20

PashDa.. like the idea of growing carrots the same way. I shall be giving them a go !

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21/06/2009 at 17:59

Hi advice please…? Am growing pots for the first time, an early variety. Until recently I had two rows of very healthy looking plants. Then one at the end of a row started turning a bit brown, not as severly as the potato blight pics I’ve found on here but it seems to have now spread right along one row and into my second. the first problem plants leaves are now turning yellow. Is this blight and if so can I fix this? Or is this a result of something I have/haven’t done? Thanks

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07/04/2011 at 13:41

Help. What is the name of the tool that Monty Don used in last weeks program to create a trench for his potatoes? It looks like a flat piece of metal joined at right angles to the handle

Gardeners' World Web User

28/11/2011 at 18:38

I HAVE JUST BUILT SOME RAISED BEDS I AM KEEN TO PLANT SOMETHING WHAT SHOULD I PLANT NOW.

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