Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Jeebus on October 24, 2018, 09:55
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Hi all,
Towards the end of September I planted some second crop Charlotte potatoes in containers in my garden. They appear to be doing well at the moment, but as the weather is starting to turn colder I am worried about frost.
I have a more sheltered area on my patio to move the containers to, but this area doesn't get as much sunlight as the rest of the garden. How much sunlight do potatoes need?
Also, I've heard that you can wrap the containers in bubble wrap to prevent damage to the plants in the event of frost. Has anyone tried this, and did it work? What other ways can they be insulated?
Unfortunately I don't have any horticultural fleece, and would rather not buy any unless it's the only thing that will potentially save my potatoes.
Many thanks,
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Good morning Jeebus, potatoes always need more light, bubble wrap will protect your spuds from frost but the increased humidity might be a problem. Old bits of window netting will do the same and avoid the increase in humidity and condensation.
Cheers, Tony.
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Hi Tony,
Thanks for your reply. That's handy to know, I will be on the look out for some cheap net curtains.
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I bought 7 Christmas spuds and planted them in small pots. Back from holiday they were about 8 - 10" tall, I transplanted them into the "Supermarket pots" as deep as possible and earthed up. We'll see what they are like nearer the time. Variety? I haven't got a clue!
Cheers, Tony.
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It's my first visit to the forum this year, so I thought I'd provide an update on the second crop potatoes that I planted in September. I did get a few potatoes, probably enough for 5 or 6 meals. They were however very small, even for Charlotte potatoes. Considering I had four 40cm tubs with 3 seed potatoes in each, this wasn't really worthwhile for me.
Towards the end of this year I will probably try a different variety of potato, and only use one tub, with the aim being to get enough potatoes for a meal or two. I might also pay more attention to feeding them, as I didn't really bother with last year's.
For anyone reading this in the future who is considering trying it, it's worth a go but don't get your hopes up. Of course your results may vary.
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I have tried potatoes in containers a few times with varying degrees of success. My best results have come using 40l posts with just one seed potatoes per pot. With a good amount of fertilizer and plenty of water each of these gave a respectable yield.