Thursday 27 August 2015

Coming To The End

We're coming towards the end of the potatoes now. This year, as in the past couple of years, I've grown Arran Pilot and Anya. I grow them in containers rather than at the plot as I find there's no damage to them whatsoever whereas there was always lots of slug damage when they were planted in the ground. These are the last two tubs, one of each variety. I have a few of this size container but the majority of my potatoes are grown in smaller buckets.


I've had a very good year with my potatoes, I'm wondering if it's because of the wet spring we had, they must have had plenty of water at a crucial stage. These Anyas were harvested from one of the larger containers, I'd planted three tubers in it. There's six pounds which I think is really good as they're small potatoes and I've never found Anyas to be a variety which gives a particularly heavy crop.


I do have one other tub left to harvest, that of Bonnie, a variety I'm trying for the first time this year, along with Sherine which I've just harvested but haven't yet tried.

I had quite a few seed potatoes left over this year so earlier in the season, as each container was emptied, I planted more. I don't know if they will come to anything or not but the tubers would have only gone to waste so I'm not losing anything by trying.


Perhaps I'll have some home grown potatoes on my Christmas dinner plate this year.

28 comments:

  1. great container harvest, if you protect them from frost you should a harvest from the late plantings, I was going to do some for christmas but like you its been a good year for potatoes and we have enough to see us through :-)

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    1. There'll be room in the greenhouse for the containers, I'll give them a bit of fleece protection once the weather turns cold too. I never grow potatoes to store but I do grow enough for my mum and dad to cash in on the harvest too.

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  2. This year is the first that I haven't grown potatoes. I took the decision partly because of a lack of time, but mostly because I was getting mixed results from the field. I have missed harvesting them though, so I think that next year I will treat myself to a few in pots. Here's to your Christmas lunch!

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    1. I had terrible results when I grew potatoes in my old allotment plot, they were riddled with slug holes. One thing about container grown spuds is that they always come out blemish free. A rinse under the tap and they're good to go.

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  3. We never grew potatoes ... plenty of runner beans though !

    I'm sure your potatoes taste lovely - and wouldn't it be good to have them on your Christmas plate.

    All the best Jan

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    1. My runner beans have just started to produce so I should have plenty of time to harvest them before the weather turns cool. It would be wonderful to have home grown potatoes for Christmas dinner, I'm fairly hopeful.

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  4. You've done well. First early varieties never do have big yields. It'll be interesting to see how your Christmas ones do. Flighty xx

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    1. I'm thrilled to bits with my Anyas this year, truth be told they're my very favourite potato so it's great that they've done so well. I've had much lower yields in other years but both varieties have done very well this year.

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  5. You might do okay with the later sown ones, I've found they grow quite quickly in containers, I assume because the pots stay fairly warm. I've found the pot grown ones are usually blemish free as well, it's such a luxury! CJ xx

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    1. The later sown potatoes have got a good start before the weather turns cold so I'm quite hopeful that I'll be harvesting some for Christmas dinner. It's a shame that the potatoes don't do so well at the allotment but they come out of containers much cleaner and with very little damage.

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  6. I have not had my gardening head on this year in our veg plot, so very little to harvest.

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    1. We're so behind on the allotment this year, we've just has so many other things taking our time up, so I'm really surprised at the amount we're still harvesting. It's been a good year.

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  7. Will you grow any imn the ground next year?

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    1. I doubt it. I much prefer growing them in containers because they don't get any damage whatsoever and they come out much cleaner too.

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  8. I haven't grown any for a few years but decided to make room for some this year. It's been good too. Apart from the Red Duke of York which didn't come to much. We had, up until August, really dry weather so I was worried they wouldn't have done so well. Charlotte and International Kidney have kept us supplied for a good 6 weeks. I'm definitely doing more next year. Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Even if you don't have room in the ground, it's definitely worth the effort of planting up a couple of containers, the first home grown spuds of the year are just so good. I've grown International Kidney in the past but I wasn't so keen on them, they definitely didn't have the flavour of Jersey Royals, the same potatoes which are grown on Jersey. I think the area where they're grown and the conditions in which they're grown can really alter the taste.

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  9. Homegrown potatoes for Christmas dinner would be a lovely treat! Sounds as though it has been a good potato year for you! xx

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    1. It's been a great potato year, I'm hoping that I can carry that on and have some homegrown potatoes at Christmas.

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  10. Those Anya potatoes look wonderful! I can't wait to dig up my potato bed. We don't eat a whole lot of potatoes - maybe once or twice a week - so I'm really trying to hold off on the big dig so that the potatoes store better. Fingers crossed that homegrown potatoes at Christmas is a reality for both of us!

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    1. Anyas are my very favourite, they've done so well this year so I'm very pleased. I don't really grow my potatoes to store but the ones I've kept in the past have stored well so I'm sure yours will be fine.

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  11. Eating your own potatoes at Christmas is very rewarding. I've managed it a couple of times. Growing in containers seems a good way to go.

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    1. I've also grown potatoes for Christmas in the past but it's been hit and miss whether they make it or not. I shall put these containers in the greenhouse once the weather turns cold and cover them with fleece. I'm hoping I can manage enough for at least Christmas dinner.

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  12. My method is exactly the same as yours. This year I have used some bigger containers. I think the yields are a bit bigger, but maybe not enough to justify the purchase of the extra compost they require. But the difference is that bigger containers need watering less frequently, which is a bonus in "normal" Summers.

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    1. I've had great yields from both size containers this year, but I've found in other years that yields can sometimes be small, even in the larger containers so I think you're right, they probably don't justify the extra compost.

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  13. I tried growing spuds in 8-litre bags this year (http://garden59.co.uk/2015/08/13/experiment-growing-potatoes-in-8-litre-bags/) and the results were underwhelming. Do you have any tips?

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    1. I can have mixed results growing in containers but on the whole, I'm quite successful and I do get decent harvests. Making sure they have enough water is the main thing but another thing is to make sure they've had enough time to grow. I tended to be a bit impatient in years gone by, now I make sure that all the tiny potatoes have had plenty of time to grow giving me a much better crop.

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  14. If we have a mild autumn and winter you just may get spuds for Christmas....here's hoping!
    You have done well with the taters this year, I've been so busy I haven't dug many up yet so I'm hoping they are all ok!xxx

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    1. I'm surprised by the harvest this year, my spuds have done very well. I'm also pleased that there's plenty to share with my parents, they do love home grown veg but now they have now garden they rely on me to provide them. Fingers crossed that your spuds do well.

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