On 14 May 2007 02:03:15 -0700, La Puce wrote:


I have a 'thing' with using tyres. I'd happily grow flowers in them
but not food stuff. I feel it's wrong. But ... it does work and each
to its own thing ;o)

It's funny but I was thinking about baking potatoes. We eat rather a
lot of them here - kids find it easy (and satisfying) to cook when I'm
not here. I've never come across baking potatoes seeds. Has anyone?
I'll be tempted to have a go next year.

I tried using tyres for potatoes when Bob Flowerdew first showed it on
GQT. My problem was that the soil in the tyres made a wonderful home
for ants and I had more ants than potatoes!

Surely baking potatoes are just the large ones from any crop of
potatoes which are suitable for baking. Just grow 'em big!

Incidentally, I have planted potatoes from those I buy to eat. If I
find a new variety which I like I try growing one.
I am trying a potato bag this year. It's bigger than a bucket and I
have 3, all different varieties, and am earthing the bag up gradually.
The bag is one of those being sold for the purpose in garden centres
etc.

Pam in Bristol

On 15 May, 16:44, Pam Moore wrote:
I tried using tyres for potatoes when Bob Flowerdew first showed it on
GQT. My problem was that the soil in the tyres made a wonderful home
for ants and I had more ants than potatoes!

I had a few tyres from the quad bike club my kids go to in the summer,
but the tyres of the Go Kart which are tiny. I grew herbs in them and
out of all of them only the thyme survived - because under the rims
where the perfect place for huge extended families of snails!!! I've
given them to someone on the lotty who fancied a tried, even after my
warning she wanted them. Which prove each one of us have to experience
the successes and failures ourselves to be convinced.

Surely baking potatoes are just the large ones from any crop of
potatoes which are suitable for baking. Just grow 'em big!

Well, I've never had a potato as big as a baking one! Can you grow
them *that* big?

Incidentally, I have planted potatoes from those I buy to eat. If I
find a new variety which I like I try growing one.
I am trying a potato bag this year. It's bigger than a bucket and I
have 3, all different varieties, and am earthing the bag up gradually.
The bag is one of those being sold for the purpose in garden centres
etc.

Yes - the growing bag is great. I haven't tried it but there was a lot
of interest last year about them, especially in Kenya - they are
perfect for the climate, the bugs etc. I remember seeing a happy
smiling family with lots of bags with food stuff growing out of them.
I had a surplus of pink fir seeds - I got a huge plastic bucket. I
should have thought about the bags ( Do remind me next year!

On Tue, 15 May 2007 15:44:48 GMT, Pam Moore wrote:

My problem was that the soil in the tyres made a wonderful home for ants
and I had more ants than potatoes!

No ants up here...

The bag is one of those being sold for the purpose in garden centres
etc.

Anything particulary special about it? Would an ex-compost or feed bag do
just as well? No doubt this bag cost a quid or more...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Pam Moore wrote:

I am trying a potato bag this year. It's bigger than a bucket and I
have 3, all different varieties, and am earthing the bag up gradually.
The bag is one of those being sold for the purpose in garden centres
etc.

I hope you have more luck with it than my husband did when he tried that
a few years ago. I don't know what he did wrong, but he was most
disappointed to find he ended up with less potato than he started
with...

--
Carol
"The glassblower's cat is bompstable"
- Dorothy L. Sayers, _Clouds of Witness_

In article ,
CWatters writes
Just been entered in a village competition to grow as many potatoes as
possible (by weight) in a bucket from one seed potatoe. I've never even
grown pots before so anyone got any tips?

Need to add drainage holes?
How deep to plant it in the bucket?
What compost etc?
Secret tips?


Best to have drainage holes in the side of the bucket - ie, where the
sides meed the base - as well as a few in the bottom and a few small
crocks (or broken up polystyrene to cover the holes/stop them getting
blocked. Put 3 ins of compost in, put spud in centre of it. Cover with
another 3 inches. Wait for shoots to come through by a couple of inches
then cover with another 3 inches of compost. Wait for shoots etc etc -
keep covering/shooting until you get to the top of the bucket. Don't
bring the compost to the very top - it makes watering messy and time
consuming. They are pretty thirsty things.

--
regards andyw

"newsb" wrote in message
...
Best to have drainage holes in the side of the bucket - ie, where the
sides meed the base - as well as a few in the bottom and a few small
crocks (or broken up polystyrene to cover the holes/stop them getting
blocked. Put 3 ins of compost in, put spud in centre of it. Cover with
another 3 inches. Wait for shoots to come through by a couple of inches
then cover with another 3 inches of compost. Wait for shoots etc etc -
keep covering/shooting until you get to the top of the bucket. Don't
bring the compost to the very top - it makes watering messy and time
consuming. They are pretty thirsty things.

Thanks. Will see how it goes.

On Wed, 16 May 2007 13:46:26 +0100, newsb
wrote:

In article ,
CWatters writes
Just been entered in a village competition to grow as many potatoes as
possible (by weight) in a bucket from one seed potatoe. I've never even
grown pots before so anyone got any tips?

Need to add drainage holes?
How deep to plant it in the bucket?
What compost etc?
Secret tips?


Best to have drainage holes in the side of the bucket - ie, where the
sides meed the base - as well as a few in the bottom and a few small
crocks (or broken up polystyrene to cover the holes/stop them getting
blocked. Put 3 ins of compost in, put spud in centre of it. Cover with
another 3 inches. Wait for shoots to come through by a couple of inches
then cover with another 3 inches of compost. Wait for shoots etc etc -
keep covering/shooting until you get to the top of the bucket. Don't
bring the compost to the very top - it makes watering messy and time
consuming. They are pretty thirsty things.

Instructions with my bag said use 3 potatoes, not one.

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
Instructions with my bag said use 3 potatoes, not one.

Pam in Bristol

Seed pot provided by competition organiser. I guess if I wanted to cheat I
could start with 10lbs of pots in the bucket :-)

On 15 May, 18:52, "Dave Liquorice" wrote:
Anything particulary special about it? Would an ex-compost or feed bag do
just as well? No doubt this bag cost a quid or more...

Good things come to those who waits .... ;o)

Found the bags! They're £14.95 each and take up 40 litres of compost.
The natural collection does them, and that's the cheapest I've found.
www.naturalcollection.com. But yes, an old feed bag or compost bag
will do. Any containers will do.

So, how are the spuds in the bucket doing folks?!? Mine are getting
quite high with all that rain, can't earth up any further!!

On 25 May 2007 04:55:22 -0700, La Puce wrote:

Found the bags! They're £14.95 each and take up 40 litres of compost.
The natural collection does them, and that's the cheapest I've found.
www.naturalcollection.com. But yes, an old feed bag or compost bag
will do. Any containers will do.

So, how are the spuds in the bucket doing folks?!? Mine are getting
quite high with all that rain, can't earth up any further!!

The ones we bought were about that price for 3.
My bag is filled to the top with soil now and the green growth is
about 18 inches above the top. Now sit back and be patient!

Pam in Bristol