Potato Help, Please

[Lauren S]

I'm trying to order my seed potatoes for next season. I have several catalogues open and I cannot decide how many (roughly) seed pots you get for 1.5kg (3.3lbs) that's through Kings Seeds. Should I order them from Thompson & Morgan where I know it states either 5 or 20 seeds pots depending on variety. The last thing I want to do is end up with too many.  ::)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance  :)

[Lauren S]

[bedrockdave]

I'like to know too, had the same problem last year and bought so many loose tubers at the garden centre in the end as they were so much a bag. using t & m this year because of the count

[hazelize_uk]

Just been flicking through our catalogues today too!  as a rough guide our plot is about 15' or 5m wide and generally works out to 1kg a row.  My vegetable expert book says 1.5lb for a 10' row which works out about the same.  the other issue is price as the t&m prices are much higher than our kings which we get thru the association and are only about 60p a kilo

[markyb23]

Hi,
     I've got nothing against T and M, but, I'd hang on a bit and try and visit one of the 'potato days'. They are especially useful if you want to try a few different varieties. I went to my first one last year. The tubers were 15p each then. There were about 30 varities. It was great-potato heaven!
I reckon about 16-18 tubers would cover a 5 metre row. I hope you have a good crop.
   All The Best-Marky.B. :)

[Barnowl]

Alan Romans reckons between 8 and 20 potatoes per kilo - from small salads to bakers -  with an overall average of 13..

You may find this page useful:

http://www.alanromans.com/t-potato.aspx

[Lauren S]

I have read others talk on here about *Potato Days*. I have googled and I don't think any are held down here in the South West.  :'(
I think it's are great opportunity to try just a few of different varieties.

Thanks for the Alan Romans Link  :)

[PAULW]

Have a look here

http://thewhitchurchweb.org/potatoday/potatodays.htm

[cambourne7]

I'm trying to order my seed potatoes for next season. I have several catalogues open and I cannot decide how many (roughly) seed pots you get for 1.5kg (3.3lbs) that's through Kings Seeds. Should I order them from Thompson & Morgan where I know it states either 5 or 20 seeds pots depending on variety. The last thing I want to do is end up with too many.  ::)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance  :)

If you have not grown potatos before then what i would suggest is that you speak to fellow allotment holders and ask what they grow as these will be idealy suited for your soil and pests. But this is not fool proof, my neighbour gets good results with potatoes that do not do well on my soil.

You might also want to consider going to potato days and picked up a larger number of variatys to test the soil but maybe a small quantity of each. Potatoes are ideal for breaking up soil and testing its growing ability so for each variaty i would plant 4 to 6 tubers or single rows dependant on your site lay out. I did this and found that variatys i though would do well did not and others which were new or unknown to standatd catalogues grew fantasticlay well.

And when in doubt grow more than you need as the slugs will take there share!!

Good Luck

[Tee Gee]

I always work on 6 to the pound unless they are very big then say four to five.

Or to put it another way a pound does about a yard and a half.

I'll leave the metric conversions to someone else;)

[saddad]

We put in about 30 Kilo so don't pay T+M prices... some from Ryton most from a local garden centre which does a good range at @ £3.30 per 3 Kg net...
;D

[Lauren S]

I have just dug up one lot of Charlottes that I planted back in August (delish). I only had six seed potatoes to plant just as an experiment. I think I might just wait and see what I can get locally. Do a bit more reading and research.

Thanks everyone  :)

[PAULW]

LAUREN
You have Tuckers just up the road in N ewton Abbot.

[norfolklass]

just browsing the T&M potato page for Mayan Gold and spotted this info:

20 tuber pack weighs approx 1.3kg

                         1st Earlies     2nd Earlies     Early Maincrop     Late Maincrop
Area Coverage      20ft (6m)     25ft (7.4m)        30ft (9m)          30ft (9m)
Planting
distance
in row                12in (30cm)   15in (37cm)     18in (45cm)      18in (45cm)
Distance
between
rows                    2ft (60cm)   2.5ft (75cm)     2.5ft (75cm)      2.5ft (75cm)

[Baaaaaaaa]

I find a 3Kg does 1.5-2  8 yard rows.

A 3kg bag of large bakers may only have 25 tubers, so space them at about 18"
A 3kg bag of salad PFK may have 50 tubers, so space them at 9"

A mid sized tuber, I space at a foot (that's a size 9 as I can't be bothered with tape measures)
ie 24 to a row

This spring, a 3KG bag of Accent (1st early) had 75 ping pong size tubers, so I planted them at 6"-9"
As 2007 had a drop more rain than 2006, I'm expecting fewer, but bigger Accents, but still enough for 1.5-2 rows.

Get mine from the Lottie shop £2.25 for 3Kg, Maybe the odd special variety that the Lottie can't get will come fom a garden centre. I never buy mail order, a) they cost more, b) the cost of postage, c) I like to see what I'm buying.