Earthing Up Spuds
 

As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be horrified
to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed stock. The
justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind, except
Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys as well, and
he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for fun I
thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so I planted them
and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where the seed
potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are Carlingford; I
knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a mental block about what
they are, but I think they're Carlingford. Anyway, they are all sort of
early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell them in bags of teeny new potatoes,
which is how I got them in the first place.

So I'll be thrilled if I get anything edible at all out of the potato patch,
and if they all die of the blight I've lost nothing.

So anyway, I didn't get proper ones so they didn't come with instructions,
and the advice on earthing up seems to vary from place to place on the web.
Some sites tell you to bury the things as soon as they come up apparently,
and others say to wait until they're 8 inches tall then earth up, and that's
what I remember doing when me and my ex, well my ex really, I just did what
I was told, you know, grew some Pentland Somethings some years ago.

Currently they've just broken through, they're about an inch or two high.
I'm inclined to leave them until they're quite big then start piling up the
earth around them. Is this correct? Or should I bury the poor blighters now?


Ian

Earthing Up Spuds
 

"Ian B" wrote in message
...
As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be
horrified to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed
stock. The justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind, except
Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys as well, and
he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for fun I
thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so I planted
them and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where the
seed potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are Carlingford; I
knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a mental block about what
they are, but I think they're Carlingford. Anyway, they are all sort of
early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell them in bags of teeny new
potatoes, which is how I got them in the first place.


Nicola are a second early, I don't bother earthing them up, just start
harvesting as they start to flower, but earthing up wouldn't do them any
harm if you're that way inclined.

Carlingford are an early main crop, and also used for second cropping for
Xmas new potatoes. Start cropping them when you've used the Nicola, or
earlier if you like. Some say the right time to harvest spuds is when you're
hungry.

The thing to watch now they're showing is frost which will nip the tops off
them and set them back a bit. If frost is forecast in your area, earth them
up so the tips are covered by 1" - 2" of soil, they'll know what to do then.

Steve

Earthing Up Spuds
 

"Ian B" wrote in
:

As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be
horrified to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed
stock. The justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind,
except Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys as
well, and he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for
fun I thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so I
planted them and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where
the seed potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are Carlingford;
I knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a mental block about
what they are, but I think they're Carlingford. Anyway, they are all
sort of early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell them in bags of teeny
new potatoes, which is how I got them in the first place.

So I'll be thrilled if I get anything edible at all out of the potato
patch, and if they all die of the blight I've lost nothing.

So anyway, I didn't get proper ones so they didn't come with
instructions, and the advice on earthing up seems to vary from place
to place on the web. Some sites tell you to bury the things as soon as
they come up apparently, and others say to wait until they're 8 inches
tall then earth up, and that's what I remember doing when me and my
ex, well my ex really, I just did what I was told, you know, grew some
Pentland Somethings some years ago.

Currently they've just broken through, they're about an inch or two
high. I'm inclined to leave them until they're quite big then start
piling up the earth around them. Is this correct? Or should I bury the
poor blighters now?


Ian



Hello Ian
I am not horrified, when I was a child we always saved potatoes to sow
the next year, and what a crop we always got.
We do it now, but not supermarket bought.
If you get a nice crop from your Sainsburys ones and you dont get any
blight, keep a few in a cool place to sow next year.
Earth up only your main crop because they will be in the ground for a
longer period to grow bigger tubers.

Regards
PtePike

Earthing Up Spuds
 

Ian B wrote:
As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be horrified
to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed stock. The
justification for this is that

I've done this before, I don't think you have to justify it to anyone, as
long as you don't mind what you get out of it (other than "potatoes")

Currently they've just broken through, they're about an inch or two high.
I'm inclined to leave them until they're quite big then start piling up the
earth around them. Is this correct? Or should I bury the poor blighters now?

We've never gone overboard with the earthing up before, but since I was
having to hoe out weeds anyhow yesterday, I threw the hoed up stuff on top
of the sprouting leaves. They were probably 4-8" tall. Anything smaller
than 4" or so I didn't earth up.

I'm no expert, still mostly experimenting here, after 4-5 years of
allotmenting (and a garden that still keeps cropping potatoes all over
despite not having any planted in it for 5+ years!)

Earthing Up Spuds
 

shazzbat wrote:
"Ian B" wrote in message
...
As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be
horrified to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed
stock. The justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind,
except Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys
as well, and he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for
fun I thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so
I planted them and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where
the seed potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are
Carlingford; I knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a
mental block about what they are, but I think they're Carlingford.
Anyway, they are all sort of early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell
them in bags of teeny new potatoes, which is how I got them in the
first place.
Nicola are a second early, I don't bother earthing them up, just start
harvesting as they start to flower, but earthing up wouldn't do them
any harm if you're that way inclined.

Carlingford are an early main crop, and also used for second cropping
for Xmas new potatoes. Start cropping them when you've used the
Nicola, or earlier if you like. Some say the right time to harvest
spuds is when you're hungry.

The thing to watch now they're showing is frost which will nip the
tops off them and set them back a bit. If frost is forecast in your
area, earth them up so the tips are covered by 1" - 2" of soil,
they'll know what to do then.

Thanks for your answer! The "Carlingfords" were tiny new potatoes when I
bought them, so if they're maincrop maybe they aren't Carlingfords. I can't
believe how forgetful I'm getting. I'm only 44!

At least I think I am, hold on a minute...


Ian

Earthing Up Spuds
 

PtePike wrote:
"Ian B" wrote in
:

As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be
horrified to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed
stock. The justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind,
except Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys as
well, and he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for
fun I thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so I
planted them and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where
the seed potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are
Carlingford; I knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a
mental block about what they are, but I think they're Carlingford.
Anyway, they are all sort of early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell
them in bags of teeny new potatoes, which is how I got them in the
first place.

So I'll be thrilled if I get anything edible at all out of the potato
patch, and if they all die of the blight I've lost nothing.

So anyway, I didn't get proper ones so they didn't come with
instructions, and the advice on earthing up seems to vary from place
to place on the web. Some sites tell you to bury the things as soon
as they come up apparently, and others say to wait until they're 8
inches tall then earth up, and that's what I remember doing when me
and my ex, well my ex really, I just did what I was told, you know,
grew some Pentland Somethings some years ago.

Currently they've just broken through, they're about an inch or two
high. I'm inclined to leave them until they're quite big then start
piling up the earth around them. Is this correct? Or should I bury
the poor blighters now?


Ian



Hello Ian
I am not horrified, when I was a child we always saved potatoes to sow
the next year, and what a crop we always got.
We do it now, but not supermarket bought.
If you get a nice crop from your Sainsburys ones and you dont get any
blight, keep a few in a cool place to sow next year.
Earth up only your main crop because they will be in the ground for a
longer period to grow bigger tubers.



Thanks, I'm hoping for some kind of a result but I hope I won't be
disappointed if they fizzle.


Ian

Earthing Up Spuds
 

Earthing Up Spuds
 

Ian B wrote:
I've done this before, I don't think you have to justify it to
anyone, as long as you don't mind what you get out of it (other than
"potatoes")
Well, looking around for potato information I found some forums where the
mention of non-certificated potatoes produced a reaction of great outrage.

Probably a forum of people who produce seed potatoes for a living! :-)

I think I'll leave them to get bigger then sort of earth them up a bit in a
vague and indecisive way.

That's my general way of doing anything.