[gavinjconway]

I just dug my Christmas spuds and what a failure.. only a few smallies from 5 tubers..

I planted them end of August into 5 pots of which only 3 took!! When the cold started I put them in the cold GH.. They didn't really grow much halum so wasn't expecting much..

So Dissssssssssssssaster... I'll try again next year..

Merry Christmas everyone..
     

[DD.]

I was going to start a thread for Christmas spuds results, so Gavin, do you mind if I hijack this thread for others to add their results to, now that you've kicked us off?

[sunshineband]

That was me last year

[Aunt Sally]

It usually is a disaster I'm afraid.

Some people bury some new potatoes during the summer in some straw in a sealed biscuit tin. 

I grow Pink Fir Apple main crop potatoes which keep well and are waxy and delicious like new potatoes.

[DD.]

There's a lot of money goes down the drain with these disasters, unless you've the foresight to save some of your first-dug earlies.

[gavinjconway]

I was going to start a thread for Christmas spuds results, so Gavin, do you mind if I hijack this thread for others to add their results to, now that you've kicked us off?

No  probs DD - Lets use this as a common thread..

[DD.]

Thanks, I'll amend the title and sticky it, just for a week or so.

[gavinjconway]

 

[tosca100]

The biggest disaster we had was that we couldn't resist them and have eaten most of them already, delicious they were too. The yield was not great, but that may be because we had really bad cold winds when OH was away and I couldn't move them into the greenhouse myself. The haulms were damaged and didn't recover.

Prefer roasties with Christmas dinner anyway. We have enough new to have a feed on Boxing day.

[arugula]

Some saved (from the january purchase and never planted) seed Lady Christl chitted beautifully in the summer after storage in a very cool, dark place, never broke the soil after planting. Won't try again.

[solway cropper]

I suppose we all have to try this Christmas spuds thing just to say that we've done it....and it didn't work.

I've resisted in previous years but did plant some in grow sacks this August. After the haulms suffered severe wind damage the end result from nine seeds was enough small spuds for two meals for the three of us.

If I'd bought the compost that would have been two very expensive meals!!

[shoozie]

Failed last year ..... Failed this year.

Planted 5 Charlottes mid August in sacks - first few weeks they came away well at each earthing up of the sacks.  Then they rolled over within 3-5 days, went limp, wilted, turned dark green, black  - gone.   Not sure what zapped them, it had been quite windy?

When we emptied the sack we had a few dwarf marbles - a very expensive spoonful of potato salad.

Note to self: don't try again

[Willie_Eckerslike]

I can only think that growing spuds for Christmas is taken as some sort of challenge.
They aren't meant to be grown in this hemisphere at this time of year. I find it much easier, although there is little challenge to it, to blanch a few charlottes in July and drop them in the deep freeze.

My family didn't have a clue as to how I produced them, but simply asked if they were home grown, to which I modestly replied, yes, of course..............!  :blink:

[gavinjconway]

Shoozie... this is what happened to mine.. but some stayed sort of green but were all really spindly!!

[sunshineband]

I do same as Aunty -- Pink Fir Apple always keep really well and make fab potato salad etc