How many seed potato's?

MidlandBrewer · « **on:** February 13, 2017, 18:33 »

This year ive decided to give potato's a go, ive never grown them before so was looking for a bit of advice.
Space is at a bit of a premium so Ive bought 2 potato grow bags.
The bags say there 42 litre capacity each, my question is, how many seed potato's does this equate to?
The instructions on the bag packet are less than helpful!

mumofstig · « **Reply #1 on:** February 13, 2017, 19:14 »

I think 3 seed potatoes would be about right for a 42L bag.

Tenhens · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2017, 23:07 »

Have been growing potatoes for the past 4 - 5 years on the plot , mainly main crop and the flavour is far superior to what you get in the supermarkets, even when we have run out and had to buy the same variety as we grow, can still tell the difference.

Did potatoes in buckets last year , yield was not as prolific as hoped which was due to insufficient watering , so keep them H2O'd ! Have bought growing bags this year and itching to get started.

Good luck with yours.

Barry C · « **Reply #3 on:** February 14, 2017, 09:03 »

Quote from: Tenhens on February 13, 2017, 23:07

Did potatoes in buckets last year , yield was not as prolific as hoped which was due to insufficient watering , so keep them H2O'd !

On the other hand don't overdo it

We were away a couple of weeks and a neighbour drowned our spuds in 2 weeks ...

The mistake I made was rigging up a hosepipe to make watering easier instead of leaving watering cans and a water butt full, it was to easy for her to drench things, in future no hosepipe

Tenhens · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2017, 15:41 »

Quote from: Barry C on February 14, 2017, 09:03

Quote from: Tenhens on February 13, 2017, 23:07

Did potatoes in buckets last year , yield was not as prolific as hoped which was due to insufficient watering , so keep them H2O'd !

On the other hand don't overdo it

We were away a couple of weeks and a neighbour drowned our spuds in 2 weeks ...

The mistake I made was rigging up a hosepipe to make watering easier instead of leaving watering cans and a water butt full, it was to easy for her to drench things, in future no hosepipe

Very true.

With a watering can you can 'measure' the amount of water.

I Love Spuds · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2017, 16:30 »

The year before last I did an experiment with earlies (mostly) & a few 2nd's:
I did 22 sacks (around 47L vol) with varying numbers in, 2, 3, 4, 5, and even 6 (2 layers of 3!) to see which was best! I found that 3 on a single layer were most productive, followed by 2. The one's with 5 and 6 were terrible, too crowded and only got lots of little ones which, if I remember correctly, were all diseased!

Not terribly scientific, but I found it interesting to do

And now I know 3 is the magic number, so need not wonder about it anymore

arh · « **Reply #6 on:** February 14, 2017, 17:03 »

Now that is good information I Love Spuds, I was only going to put one in my bags, but now I think I will put 2/3, The question is "how big (in width and height in inches, lying flat without a gusset) is a 47 litre bag", my bags are 32"h x 23"w which I suspect is probably around 50L. I read somewhere that someone was selling "potato bags" which were 17" x 12" which I thought was on the small side.
The plan is to put a square of last years turf, (upside down) in the bottom as water retention, 2" of manure, then 8" of compost, then the potato, 8" of compost, then top up as it grows to the top of the bag. All suggestions welcome. Thank you, arh.

Tenhens · « **Reply #7 on:** February 14, 2017, 17:13 »

Useful information on how many seeds to plant.

What did you use as a growing medium, I Love Spuds? Have you tried the same with Main Crop ?

Was discussing with Mrs Tenhens earlier about doing an 'experiment' with different mixes that is one bag with plot soil , one with 50/50 mix of home compost and soil and maybe one 100% home compost and maybe one with growbag from the garden centre. Intending to use similar size seeds and monitor the watering so hopefully get some form of comparison.

Midland Brewer , have you thought about what you are filling your bags with?

MidlandBrewer · « **Reply #8 on:** February 14, 2017, 17:23 »

Quote from: Tenhens on February 14, 2017, 17:13

Midland Brewer , have you thought about what you are filling your bags with?

That was going to be my next question

I will pobably have to use pure compost as my compost heap is still in its infancy and not fully broken down, I do have some well rotted house manure though so may add some of that.... if thats a good idea?

mumofstig · « **Reply #9 on:** February 14, 2017, 17:55 »

Have a look here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEKXDfl2IW4

Middlesexbloke · « **Reply #10 on:** February 14, 2017, 19:41 »

Quote from: mumofstig on February 14, 2017, 17:55

Have a look here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEKXDfl2IW4

Love this guy, he gets so excited with his yields, rightly so! I used his method last year and got some very impressive results with very little disease. I can't recommend the method enough and will be doing the same this year. Only thing to remember is the regular watering. Probably a little more labour intensive than growing in the ground but in my humble opinion it is worth it.

I Love Spuds · « **Reply #11 on:** February 15, 2017, 13:47 »

Bags - I started with the the wilko 42L. They're not durable so treat as disposable bags! Every Year I buy a few more heavy duty ones to build up. I guess the same diameter as the small bucket in video, probably around 18 - 20 inches high

Medium - I tried various mixtures and this worked best for me. If I have enough home made then 50/50 with verve from b&q. I found this retained moisture better as just verve would dry out really fast. I put pebbles in bottom, fill the bag to just over 1/2, 1/2 handful Blood Fish Bone and mix in, spuds in upright fill up rest. The compost does compact with watering over time, so I always fill right up with compost, and sometimes add more later.

As Midd.... said, keep an eye on them, i.e. water regular. In the height of summer heat I move them to a shaded area (I don't do 20 odd bags every year, or I probably wouldn't bother!)

Not tried it with mains, as they always go in the ground.

One last thing. If your putting them on concrete path or patio, put wooden boards underneath to protect from frost early on.

Sorry I've gone on a bit.

MidlandBrewer · « **Reply #12 on:** February 16, 2017, 13:04 »

Quote from: I Love Spuds on February 15, 2017, 13:47

Bags - I started with the the wilko 42L. They're not durable so treat as disposable bags! Every Year I buy a few more heavy duty ones to build up. I guess the same diameter as the small bucket in video, probably around 18 - 20 inches high

Medium - I tried various mixtures and this worked best for me. If I have enough home made then 50/50 with verve from b&q. I found this retained moisture better as just verve would dry out really fast. I put pebbles in bottom, fill the bag to just over 1/2, 1/2 handful Blood Fish Bone and mix in, spuds in upright fill up rest. The compost does compact with watering over time, so I always fill right up with compost, and sometimes add more later.

As Midd.... said, keep an eye on them, i.e. water regular. In the height of summer heat I move them to a shaded area (I don't do 20 odd bags every year, or I probably wouldn't bother!)

Not tried it with mains, as they always go in the ground.

One last thing. If your putting them on concrete path or patio, put wooden boards underneath to protect from frost early on.

Sorry I've gone on a bit.

Thanks for all the tips and advise, I really appreciate it

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How many seed potato's?

MidlandBrewer

How many seed potato's?

mumofstig

Re: How many seed potato's?

Tenhens

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Barry C

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Tenhens

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I Love Spuds

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arh

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Tenhens

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MidlandBrewer

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mumofstig

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Middlesexbloke

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I Love Spuds

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MidlandBrewer

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