Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: aec on July 09, 2010, 18:36

Title: Potato Plants gone mad?
Post by: aec on July 09, 2010, 18:36

Is this unusual.  I have Charlottes and Maris Peer in potato planter bags.  The Charlottes were planted a few weeks before Maris Peer and will soon be ready for harvest.  The Maris Peer seem to have gone mad and are about 5ft in height (taller than the Charlottes), quite a few flowers so I am presuming there will be potatoes there.  I am not sure whether I am watering them too much.

I have just noticed as well that something is eating the leaves, lots of little holes, but nothing visible on them, but no sooner turn my back than there are some more.  I wonder, could this be the little black beetles that are also on my roses?

aec
 
 

Title: Re: Potato Plants gone mad?
Post by: SG6 on July 09, 2010, 18:56

Mine went mad a couple of years ago and grew to well over 6ft of foliage. Unfortunately a very poor potato crop. Suspect they may have been too dry and I have always had better success with potato's in containers. Hopefully yours will be better.

Flowers do not mean potato's, think it is better idea to wait until the foliage begins to go over. At that time the plant has produced all the food it can via the foliage and the foliage is no longer required it will have hopefully stored that food as nice big potato's

Title: Re: Potato Plants gone mad?
Post by: aec on July 09, 2010, 19:37

Keeping my fingers crossed.  I first grew Catriona potatoes which were successful and had a good crop, maybe it was beginner's luck.  The next year had Vivaldi which did not yield much, and disintegratd on cooking, so I was very disappointed with them, considering they are supposed to be one of the best.  I have decided to try Kestrel and will be planting in the next few days for Christmas harvest.