[scabs]

Ullo, long time no post... 


I picked up my seed potatoes yesterday and just wanted to ask: are Wilko's prices as good as it gets? It seemed very cheap at £2.97 for a 3kg bag.

I'm still very new and, for the second year running, I suspect with 3kg each of earlies, 2nd earlies and maincrop, I may have over-bought a bit...

There didn't seem an awful lot of variety, mind.

Onion sets seemed great value too.

[madcat]

Wilkos at  99p a kg seems to be the bottom, going by what people are saying on this board.  Poundshop are about the same or a bit more, weight for weight, but not like for like.  Independent garden centres (and my fav hardware store) are going at £1.25 ish a kg for choose your own (rather than prepacked bags).  Then onwards and upwards from there ...

[DD.]

You'll find it difficult to beat those prices, but as you say the range is limited, that's how they keep the price down, buying a lot of a few varieties.

My local nursery charge £1.25 a kilo, (£1 a kilo for over 10kg), but they offer a choice over over 90 different varieties and you can buy exactly the number you want.

As for over buying, depends how much ground you have set aside for them. Can't tell you what they were weight wise, but I've got over 290 seed spuds to put in.

[scabs]

Cheers Madcat, I've not really checked the board out much recently.  

As I say, it seemed incredibly cheap to me having spent last week brousing numerous seed catalogues.

Mind you, last year I got over half my crop for free. Needless to say, I am watching Mr Fothergill like a hawk.  

Also needless to say, should another free spud opportunity arise, I will reporty back sharpish!  

[scabs]

Hi Dave,

Yeah, I'll double up on what I grew last year but, with the few varieties I intend to do in tubs/tyres, there will definitely be a load over. Mind you, at those prices, I have already been onto one of my mates and promised him a bunch of each!

As you say, it's a get what you pay for thing, I guess.

 

[GrannieAnnie]

I usually pay £3 to £3.50 for mine at the garden centre for 3kgs, but I don't know about Poundland being cheap.  Went in there last week and yes theirs were £1 (strangely enough!) but the bags only weighed 200gms!  Couldn't see any bigger bags

[mumofstig]

I usually pay £3 to £3.50 for mine at the garden centre for 3kgs, but I don't know about Poundland being cheap.  Went in there last week and yes theirs were £1 (strangely enough!) but the bags only weighed 200gms!  Couldn't see any bigger bags

Thats right Grannie...in Poundland I got 10 lovely PJs for my squid, but in Wilkos you only get 5 for the small packs.........so I suppose its a question of how many you need, and what variety you are after

[blackisgreen]

just got 25k bag of homeguard £11.00 were £9.50 last year

[JayG]

Paid £3.99 for a 2.5kg bag of Lady Christl at my local garden centre; not a bargain but then again they're the only spuds I shall be growing this year (also, last year I must have driven about 50 miles visiting every likely shop I could think of looking for the best choice and value; daft or what?)

Last year I bought a 3kg bag of Charlotte seed spuds which contained just over 30; this year's 2.5kg bag of LC contained 45.

Size Matters!

[randombod]

to be honest i use ones chitting away that i have got left over from supermarket bags and every year they work well for me  i got a bag of reds for 30p at morrisons and if they chit i thrown them in the ground and they thrive

[DD.]

I suggest you have a good read of this thread, randombod:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=50572.0