Gardening_Convert wrote:
Obviously I'm slightly late for this year but how do you go about
growing your own potatoes ready for you xmas meal.
I saw somewhere that you can plant some seed potatoes in seed compost
in a bin in september , is this true ? What sort of potatoes should
you plant ?
Do you need to water , feed etc
Do you need to protect from frost ?

You can grow anything at anytime of the year, if you really wish to.
Daffodils for xmas, tulips in August, peppers in October ... However,
your results, success, produce taste etc. is considerably affected by
the conditions you grow your produce. The weather, the sun, the rain,
the insects, the wind (for humidity and cooling system) especially the
light etc. With this in mind, without sun and warmth, one would require
a greenhouse with lamps, without rain, one would need some sort of
irrigation system, if too damp, if too cold, the frost, the snow, the
diseases via the dampness, the dark conditions etc ... you must really
think is this worthwhile?!

If it was that easy, then everyone would do it, but it's left to the
huge nurseries of Holland, Essex and warmer part of our world to do it,
using tons of energy to provide out of season foods and using tons of
pesticide and growth hormones. I personally think it's very sad indeed.

I have my own grown potatoes for my xmas dinner, cabbages, broadbeans
and peas (frozen) and leeks. But my spuds went in as seeds in March
(easter day is the custom). I had potatoes in June, these where my
earlies. Why would one do it in September?

Here, check this site. You are only 2 months away to bying your seeds
and cheating them (sprouting)!! I can't wait for March )

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...r_1_potato.asp