FarmI wrote:

They will, but Sydney isn't really the right place to be growing spuds
anyway given it's climate. Spuds like cooler, less humid conditions than
Sydney so I'm not surprised that Terry is finding they cark it early.

Most varieties do not produce much, aka 100gm seed gives 10gm spud.

Kiplers are the only ones that have hung in there, but I suspect we have
inadvertently kept selecting the smaller ones each year. So, we will
probably buy new seed stock of them.

Funnily, the best method here, seems to be the old tyre stack, so we
will try more of that in future. I also have to fill the upper tyres
with dry straw and nothing else.

I doubt very much that Terry will be able to find any spuds in Oz that are
grown as seed spuds in a climate similar to Sydney as all the areas where
seed spuds are grown (like Crookwell and in Victoria) don't have a climate
anything like Sydney's.

This is why heritage varieties/strains are important. They often grow in
wider environments than modern, pampered varieties.

That is how I got my Purple Congos and Kipflers.

We also have tried Desiree, Toolangi Delight, Pink Eye(?) and others
(the dreaded clean up monster threw out the bags). Pink eyes might be
worth another go in the tyres as it slowly petered out.

Thankfully, we have a new permaculture group locally and seed sharing is
happening, so we might be able to obtain a good local variety there.

OTOH, I've managed to get some nice corn growing this year. Just
wondering how long after the silk dries off before I should try picking?
And does a corn plant produce cobs concurrently or consecutively?