Can anyone advise me when seed potatoes will become available. And when to
start planting them. Additionally I intend planting them in compost filled
dustbins, so should I fill 1/3 with compost and then mound the plants up
with additional compost as they grow untill I reach the top of the bins?
Thanks for any advice offered

Paddy

Hiya,
I've been down the garden center today and they had loads in-also b+q had
some last week....so now's the time to get them.
I use grass cuttings to earth up my tatties-works well.
Karen

In article , Ron
writes
Can anyone advise me when seed potatoes will become available. And when to
start planting them. Additionally I intend planting them in compost filled
dustbins, so should I fill 1/3 with compost and then mound the plants up
with additional compost as they grow untill I reach the top of the bins?
Thanks for any advice offered

Potato seed have been available for some time now. They can be bought at
garden centres, nurseries, DIY stores etc. and they can be mail-ordered
from catalogues or websites. Planting can begin as soon as the tubers
are chitted up - i.e. they have fresh growth shoots showing on them, and
as soon as suitable conditions can be provided for them in terms of
temperature and growing medium. For outside growing in most parts of UK,
mid-April is early enough to be sure that the plants will not suffer
from frost when they show above the ground.

Huge crops of potatoes can be gained from one tuber by the dustbin
method you describe if the plan is carefully followed. The plant tops
need to be kept showing above the soil surface, so earthing up needs to
be done in several small stages, taking the soil up to the neck of the
plant. Some additional light will be needed in daytime when they are
trying to grow at first in the lower part of the dustbin and a minimum
growing temperature of about 10C/52F needs to be maintained at all times
for protection - higher for continuous growing.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

" Huge crops of potatoes can be gained from one tuber by the dustbin
method you describe if the plan is carefully followed. The plant tops
need to be kept showing above the soil surface, so earthing up needs to
be done in several small stages, taking the soil up to the neck of the
plant. Some additional light will be needed in daytime when they are
trying to grow at first in the lower part of the dustbin and a minimum
growing temperature of about 10C/52F needs to be maintained at all times
for protection - higher for continuous growing.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Our area has just gone over to wheelie bins. I've just bought a few seed
potatoes to grow at school. Maybe calling on neighbours to ask for their
old dustbins might be a good idea ;-)

I gather holes need to be drilled in the bottom to allow for drainage?

Natalie

Hi Ron. I am in USDA Zone 5 in the US and the gardeners here plant potatoes
on Good Friday. I don't think that has anything to do with how well the
potatoes will come out, just an easy way to remember when to stick them in
the ground. Have fun. Dwayne


"Ron" wrote in message
.. .
Can anyone advise me when seed potatoes will become available. And when to
start planting them. Additionally I intend planting them in compost filled
dustbins, so should I fill 1/3 with compost and then mound the plants up
with additional compost as they grow untill I reach the top of the bins?
Thanks for any advice offered

Paddy

"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
Hi Ron. I am in USDA Zone 5 in the US and the gardeners here plant
potatoes
on Good Friday. I don't think that has anything to do with how well the
potatoes will come out, just an easy way to remember when to stick them in
the ground. Have fun. Dwayne

Good Friday varies from year to year so this is not a good guide!

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

In article , Natalie
writes

Our area has just gone over to wheelie bins. I've just bought a few seed
potatoes to grow at school. Maybe calling on neighbours to ask for their
old dustbins might be a good idea ;-)

The method could be carried out in any container which was large enough
and was strong enough to support the weight of the soil. Plastic would
be preferable to metal.

I gather holes need to be drilled in the bottom to allow for drainage?

Yes that is essential. A bottom screed of broken crocks or gravel etc.
will help to control the drainage - much as is done in flowerpots.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In article ,
Alan Holmes see sig for reply address wrote:

"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
Hi Ron. I am in USDA Zone 5 in the US and the gardeners here plant
potatoes
on Good Friday. I don't think that has anything to do with how well the
potatoes will come out, just an easy way to remember when to stick them in
the ground. Have fun. Dwayne

Good Friday varies from year to year so this is not a good guide!

In some sects, it is fixed. A brief trawl indicates that the
Aristean calendar fixes it on August 17th, which isn't a lot of help,
but I believe that at least one sect has fixed it somewhere in spring.

Using it as a date for planting potatoes is probably not generally
regarded as a sufficient reason for conversion ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

The tradition in this part of Wales is for Pembroke and Gower to start
planting on St David's day (1st March)

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

You are probably right. I planted mine on Good Friday one year and they
were frosted right after they came up. I was told not to worry about it,
and sure enough, they all came back. I guess Good Friday is late enough in
the season for them to survive till they can be harvested. I am planning to
plant them this year again on Good Friday ( or within 2 days either side of
that date).

Dwayne





"Ron" wrote in message
.. .
Can anyone advise me when seed potatoes will become available. And when to
start planting them. Additionally I intend planting them in compost filled
dustbins, so should I fill 1/3 with compost and then mound the plants up
with additional compost as they grow untill I reach the top of the bins?
Thanks for any advice offered

Paddy

"Alan Gould" wrote in message
...

Potato seed have been available for some time now. They can be bought at
garden centres, nurseries, DIY stores etc. and they can be mail-ordered
from catalogues or websites. Planting can begin as soon as the tubers
are chitted up - i.e. they have fresh growth shoots showing on them, and
as soon as suitable conditions can be provided for them in terms of
temperature and growing medium. For outside growing in most parts of UK,
mid-April is early enough to be sure that the plants will not suffer
from frost when they show above the ground.

In the past I've always put the tubers on the kitchen windowcill to sprout,
but this year the windowcill has been taken up with other things, can I put
them in the greenhouse to sprout, and do I need to watch out for frosts?

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

In article , Alan Holmes alan@holmes-
g4crw.freeserve.co.uk writes

In the past I've always put the tubers on the kitchen windowcill to sprout,
but this year the windowcill has been taken up with other things, can I put
them in the greenhouse to sprout, and do I need to watch out for frosts?

An unheated greenhouse will not give sufficient frost protection to
chitting potato tubers during Feb./March in UK IMHO.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Alan Gould pushed briefly to the front of
the queue on Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:59:04 +0000, and nailed this to the
shed door:

^ In article , Alan Holmes alan@holmes-
^ g4crw.freeserve.co.uk writes
^
^ In the past I've always put the tubers on the kitchen windowcill to sprout,
^ but this year the windowcill has been taken up with other things, can I put
^ them in the greenhouse to sprout, and do I need to watch out for frosts?
^
^ An unheated greenhouse will not give sufficient frost protection to
^ chitting potato tubers during Feb./March in UK IMHO.

I've already done what Alan H is enquiring about, and for the same
reasons, except I used my shed rather than a greenhouse. I was having
a look at the tubers on Saturday, and noticed that quite a few had
mouldy spots where protosprouts had previously been. Is this a result
of frost damage?

Andy

--
sparge at globalnet point co point uk

We must be fearless
We must have fearlessness
We must not be fearlessnessless
We must not have fearlessnesslessness
We must be fearlessnesslessnessless

In article , Andy Spragg
writes
I've already done what Alan H is enquiring about, and for the same
reasons, except I used my shed rather than a greenhouse. I was having
a look at the tubers on Saturday, and noticed that quite a few had
mouldy spots where protosprouts had previously been. Is this a result
of frost damage?

IMHO it is a result either of frost damage or of prolonged periods in
low temperatures with some dampness or high humidity. Your tubers have a
good chance of recovery given suitable conditions - i.e. stored in near
but not total darkness, free of draughts, dry at min. 5C/40F. We stand
our potato seed upright in egg trays, cover them with newspaper and keep
them under a stage in our conservatory.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.