Second Crop of Spuds for Christmas :)

Hi All

I have harvested half of my spuds already, I started very early, and I want to sow another lot for Nov/Dec and I wanted to use the same soil. Maybe add some FBB or Chicken Manure etc.

I'm not particularly bothered about a huge crop but does that sound feasible as I don't have any other spare space?

Thanks
Mattie

I grow all my spuds in 35 litre buckets

Mattie

No I know

...but surely that will only kill the haulms??
Lots of people seem to do Christmas spuds, maybe they will be ready for October

No probs

The idea of the pots is so that I can move them indoors if its going to freeze. I did try last year but unfortunately they did get blight and I had to chuck them all away.

Ill see how it goes this year.
Thanks
Mattie

Hi Mattie, I'm quite close to you geographically, and have tried growing Christmas potatoes for the last 3 years. The theory is that you plant a first early, and it grows away quickly because the ground is warm. Last year our local Dobbies had packs of seed potatoes in July that were labelled as Christmas Potatoes, so that was an extra temptation.

What I've found is that they do grow away quickly.  I haven't had blight (surprisingly), but one year did get a lot of blackleg, probably because it was exceptionally wet. The tops are always going yellow and dying down by October anyway, and the last couple of years we haven't had any frost before Christmas. 

The crops have been disappointing, it often feels like the original seed potatoes have done nothing more than divide into smaller marble-sized ones! So I'd decided not to bother this year.

G&R

Hi

My usual method involves a seed potato in a 6" pot and placed on a heat matt until it germinates which doesn't take long, then I move them outside until they grow into a little plant.

Then at about 6" tall I transplant two of them into a 35 litre bucket and earth up as needed. I even try them under my solar powered LED grow lights for a few days which they thrive under.

Hopefully if I can get an early start and no blight I will get an "ok" crop.

If I could get hold of decent seed potatoes in May/Jun I would plant those but they seem to disappear after March

I tried it down here, no frosts until January, no blight, but very small crops, REALLY not worth the effort.