Wednesday 25 August 2021

Mixed Fortunes

I only planted two containers of potatoes up this year, one was in a purpose made potato bag and the other was in a large plastic pot. I've used both very successfully in the past. Unfortunately, potatoes only grew in one container, the potato bag, there wasn't any growth at all in the plastic pot and exactly the same thing happened with Eleanor's potatoes too. I can only assume that the seed potatoes in the plastic pots rotted when we had the bout of very wet weather earlier in the year, but it does go to show that the bags which are made specifically to grow potatoes in have definitely worked better this year.

Having all my eggs in one basket so to speak, or rather all my potatoes in one container, I was hoping for good results. When the bag was tipped out it looked promising.

All told, there were just over eight pounds of potatoes in the one bag. The 50p is on the photo for scale, there were some really quite large spuds harvested. These are Charlotte, a second early potato which Eleanor chose as she fancied the waxy texture that this potato offers. I grew Charlotte last year too, it was the first time I'd grown them in containers and I got quite a poor yield. They can vary considerably from year to year.

I'm more than happy with what I've harvested this year, you can't beat the taste of home grown!

18 comments:

  1. I agree with your sentiments of can´t beat home grown. That was a great result from just one container, interesting about the different growing methods, enjoy xcx

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  2. Shame about the ones in the pot. The Charlottes look good, mine have also done well.
    I agree with your last sentence, on both counts. xx

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  3. They do look very tasty and a good result from growing them in the potato bag. We did have a lot of wet weather and shame the pots didn't produce any potatoes for you and Eleanor.

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  4. Home grown ALWAYS tastes best.

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  5. With moving house I didn’t do potatoes this year only runner beans which have been prolific.I shall note your advice for next year.Barbara

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  6. Interesting Jo & I've not grown potatoes for years and we do have to be careful here as we live in a spud growing area, so have limits to what they can bring in for us to grow. Enjoy. Take care & hugs.

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  7. That's a really interesting result for the bag v pot competition, an excellent yield plus some tasty dinners to look forward to.

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  8. Hello!
    Great post. I really like your blog, it's interesting and inspiring! I will be happy to come to read more entries :)
    I wish you all the best!
    Greetings from Poland!

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  9. That's a great harvest of potatoes! I've tried growing potatoes in containers a couple of times but it's not worked out - in my case, it was probably the extra heat that they were exposed too, something potatoes are also not a fan of.

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  10. Your spuds look nice. We've grown some again this year, they look fab but no matter how slowly i cook them they break up, anyone else had this? Jean.x

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    1. There are some varieties which are more prone to this than others and it can be a matter of seconds between an intact potato and one which is in pieces. I've found waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte, to boil well. Have a look at recommendations online and go for the ones which are more suited to boiling, it's a starting point at least.

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  11. You can't beat home grown.
    The Charlotte potatoes look great.
    Enjoy them :)

    All the best Jan

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  12. That's a shame that Eleanors potatoes didnt take, but looks like you got a good crop there. We are going to empty our container at the weekend so fingers crossed our harvest will be as good as yours, although I'm not expecting great results

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  13. We grew potatoes in three different plastic tubs - one did well and the other two were pathetic. The Charlotte potatoes growing on the plot were very smal but other varieties fared better.

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  14. I 1ove a11 things potato!!!!

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  15. I've had potatoes rot in plastic containers too. That is a yummy looking yield. xxx

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  16. I've lost so many veggies from rot with the excessive rain we have received here, Jo. But have to keep trying as home grown is definitely the best! P.x

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