Silly Q...

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iwantanallotment

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  • Location: West Midlands
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Silly Q...
« on: June 05, 2009, 02:19 »
...but need to ask it!

How can volunteer potatoes spring up where no potatoes have ever been grown before?

I have some in my onion & garlic beds, where potatoes grew last year. That's understandable; but also there are some among my runners, where potatoes have never been grown? Flowering, too!

I've put no vegetable peelings down or homemade compost, only horse manure/chicken pellets/blood, fish & bone.
There was a bag of potatoes growing 10ft away last year which developed pods - could that be it?
BUT - if these pods are hives of seed, how long for these seeds to develop to maturity and reveal a productive plant? A simple bluebell takes 5 years from seed to form a bulb!

I've been racking my brain to no avail, and would really appreciate any thoughts  :)

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Yorkie

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Re: Silly Q...
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2009, 23:03 »
How long have you had your allotment?  Volunteer spuds can appear a surprisingly long time after the original crop...

I don't know, but I'd be surprised if the seed pods were producing spuds within a season?
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

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SG6

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Re: Silly Q...
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2009, 06:27 »
Any chance that when digging the ground over a forkfull of soil from an area that had potatoes in it was thrown on to the area that didn't have?

If so then a small residual potato could have been transported and is now growing. :( :(

The other thing is that when harvesting some people dig up a potato plant, dig out the large potatoes then shake off he soil then harvest any potatoes still on the plants root structure. If anyone has done this then a small potato could have been shaken off and fallen else where. :( :(

Last year my old potato plants were the added to the compost. If you did/do the same do you have to carry the old plants over any ground. If so a small potato could have fallen. >:( >:(

There's 3 options. Makes you wonder there aren't potatoes everywhere. :D :D :D

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savbo

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Re: Silly Q...
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2009, 14:44 »
and even a spud eye from the kitchen compost can keep growing if conditions are right...


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