In article , will
writes
Alan Gould wrote in message news:9PKt7FBXQ
...
In article , will
writes
The FAQ has two differing opinions about whether earlies should be
grown in containers. Ron Lowe says yes, the HDRA say no. Could someone
advise please?
Yes early potatoes can be grown in containers given the right
management. Could you explain where HDRA say they cannot?
Alan
On the HDRA page regarding potatoes
(http://www.hhdra.ic24.net/potcult.htm), there's a table summarising
the different methods of growing potatoes. In the Containers section
it says that the disadvantages include: "Not suitable for earlies,
whole container harvested at once, Large quantities of soil/compost
required, Lots of watering needed..."
Is this correct?
Will
A surprise to suddenly see my name splattered across the Newsgroup !!
I wasn't aware of the HDRA page when I wrote the FAQ and I must admit to
not having looked at it since learning of it. However why it should say
"Not suitable for earlies" I do not know. The yield from earlies is less
than from maincrop varieties but they are, IMHO, worth growing simply
because they are likely to mature anything from 2 to 5 weeks before my
plot potatoes mature. Depending of course on when you start them. I
agree with the quantities comment. It is an expensive way of producing
them rather than planting them in an allotment /garden. A fair bit of
watering is needed but too much water is a much bigger problem. Last
year I lost 3, of 5, pots due to being away and finding on return that
so much rain had fallen that the potatoes had rotted.
Go on, plant a few and see what you get. I can assure you it is a very
satisfying feeling to harvest and eat clean new potatoes and then seeing
that Jersey Royals are £1:50 per lb., or more, in the local
greengrocers.
Apologies for the late answer but I only caught up with this thread a
few hours ago.
Ron Lowe
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