[hushda24]

Just had a heated shout at my other half   
As i have earthed my new spuds up this year for the 1st time.
Reason being i persumed they grow up as the stem does ?
So i had my 1st furtle tonight and there was nothing at all in the top half of the dustbin 
So i moved on to a smaller bin and that was same 
So i pulled a root or two out and got 2 egg sized pots and lots of very little ones sticking to the roots.
Now these are maris bards and only 9 weeks old (63 days)
I know its very very early to pull them but i have so many pots & bins of spuds i can afford too 
I will not furtle now for at least 4 more weeks.

My question is ......... should spuds grow up with the stem as i earth them up ?
My partner said i am a fool for doing it and i have to admit i spent a fortune on earthing up 
Oh well its why i am here to learn more 

question two is ..............

I watered them last night with 1 full watering can to each bin.Also had showers of rain after.
On my furtle i noticed how dry the comost was in the bins.Only 24 hours after they had a good soak 
Could i water them every day now ? They are flowering aswell.

Kind regards
hushda 

 

[sunshineband]

You are right in that potatoes grow from the sideshoots off the stems that are earthed up.

You can see tiny little spuds the size of peanuts or less when you dig up the plants. if these were left, they would grow larger

[hushda24]

Thanks sunshine band 
I just told my other half and he is laughing & saying where are the spuds on the shoots at the top then 
I will just wait for 4 weeks and hope for the best i think.


Can i water them 1 full watering can every day now ? Or is that too much ?

[sunshineband]

AS they are growing potatoes now, then this is the time they do need a lot of water as this will boost the crop

Make sure they do not dry out in between watering

Maybe one can does not fully soak them, so perhaps two canfuls twice a week might be better

[hushda24]

I was watering them a can every 3 days.
I think i will do it every 2 days then 

[sunshineband]

The water has to get right down to the bottom of your container

[hushda24]

Yes i am with you now 

I will water them with two cans a bin twice a week 

[mumofstig]

They reckon (well Mr T's book tells me that )  2 inches of water on the surface only travels 8 inches into the compost, you have to pour on a lot to reach the bottom of the container at that rate!

[Nikkithefoot]

For my spuds in bags, once the tops get to the top of the bag and it is full of soil I water them daily. Providing there are holes in the bottom you can't give them too much water. The only day I don't water is if it has rained heavily all day. I have even watered if there has been a light shower. Spuds in pots or  bags are thirsty creatures.

[hushda24]

They reckon (well Mr T's book tells me that )  2 inches of water on the surface only travels 8 inches into the compost, you have to pour on a lot to reach the bottom of the container at that rate!

That sounds right to me lol

[hushda24]

For my spuds in bags, once the tops get to the top of the bag and it is full of soil I water them daily. Providing there are holes in the bottom you can't give them too much water. The only day I don't water is if it has rained heavily all day. I have even watered if there has been a light shower. Spuds in pots or  bags are thirsty creatures.

Reading this i went outside to water them and its blooming starting to rain now 
So will now do it tomorrow and every day onwards 
I am just gona soak them the blooming thirsty * 
I have noticed that when it does rain,You dont get much water going in the compost anyway.
Too many leaves stop it i think.
So if what you say is correct ? (you cant give them too much water as long as holes are in bottom)
Which i have lots of drainage holes in every pot & dustbins.
Then i am gona do 2 watering cans a day every day 
Oh and i will give my dustbins up to 5 watering cans full lol

Who said growing veg is easy ?

[shoozie]

they'll also benefit from a weekly feed of tomato fertiliser from now on 

[hushda24]

they'll also benefit from a weekly feed of tomato fertiliser from now on 

I have fed them tomato feed a couple of times now.

But as i am dumb i couldnt work out the ratio off tom feed to gallons of water lol

1st time i put a whole capfull into 1 watering can per plant 

2nd time i gave the watering can a splash of tom feed per pot plant 

Its impossible to work out ratio to one watering can 

[Bernard]

Don't despair, everyone has problems. I once overheard a neighbour who had spud problems asking a friend if he had planted them too close to the ground!!!!!!!!!

(Well, I know what he meant but it was a strange way to put it.)

[A Reyt Tayty]

My Bards have been in 14 weeks now and only just flowering.