Growing our own Potatoes & other veg ?

mark 2008

Hi. Just wondering if it is possible to plant the potatoes that you buy in a supermarket, in the garden, and would they grow and provide potatos in a more "eco-friendly" way. Or do you need special seed potatoes. Also can you plant them anytime of the year (like now) or do you need to wait till Spring time ? Are there any other veggies like peas you can plant in the garden from what you get in a shop that would grow ? cheers, mark

bbam

Potatoes from store may sprout if the havent been sprayed to prevent it :eek: madness !. Better going for proper seed, we used a scottish blyte resistant strain last year so no spraying needed. It is late to plant them... use Easter as a prompt for your spuds, weather depending of course.
I've heard of shop bought broad beans working but never tried...

magicbastarder

i've successfully grown shop bought garlic and spuds.

bbam

+1 for the Garlic... takes a good 10 months to crop so you'll need patience.

magicbastarder

am doing it for the second time this year - planted before christmas - and all the foliage has fallen over. i may lift it soon.

muggyog

Would'ent recommend using shop bought potatoes for seed. There are too many imports which wont grow successfully here. They probably would grow ( potatoes left in the ground have weed like powers of propagation!) but the yield would be disappointing. Thats why we have Teagasc testing varieties. Traditionally potatoes are sown in March (17th?) but depending on the weather can be put in as late as end of April.

Garlic bulbs on the other hand are best got in the supermarket ( using them myself )

luckat

Also, if you're planting spuds, choose a delicious variety.

I've been disappointed in buying organic new potatoes this year, except for the Lidl ones, which are delicious.

If you're looking for a variety that will grow in Ireland, look for the "Ireland" on the pack as the place they were grown. I think the *current* Lidl batch are from Spain, but they do often have organic Irish vegetables.

Most potatoes grown today are blight resistant, but it's a good idea to spray the leaves with Bordeaux mixture in any case. This is regarded as an organic spray.

If you want cultivation advice, go in to Hackett's in Capel Street, where they'll sell you seeds (in season) and give you sensible, down-to-earth help.

Chopper71

HI,


Last summer I got into growing herbs for using in the Kitchen. Simple stuff, Basil, Mint etc.

Anyway, found a handy site for helping with this www.herbvids.com

Shows videos on how to grow herbs.

Enjoy

donaghs

I'm curious about planting dates too. I planted some pototoes in early April and they're coming along fine.

But I was wondering would it be too late to plant a few more? i.e. to get a late crop?

Minder

The Royal Horticultural Society have a useful calendar that has various sections, the kitchen garden can be accessed from the menu on the left, July is here.

Vegetables
There's lots to harvest in the vegetable patch, including spinach, peas, beets, carrots, salads, potatoes and globe artichokes; shallots and spring-planted garlic may be ready as well.

Pick courgettes before they become marrows.

Overwintered onions can be lifted and used.

Plant out leeks and brassicas for a winter supply, if not yet done.

Sow spring cabbage, turnips, Oriental vegetables, chicory, fennel, and autumn/winter salads such as lamb’s lettuce.

Carrots can still be sown, but beware carrot fly when thinning existing seedlings

Last chance to sow French and runner beans (south of England only).

Beans need sufficient watering to help the seed pods set.

Remember to pick your bean and pea pods as they mature, to stop them becoming tough and stringy later in the summer.

Climbing beans may need stopping, to maximise cropping on existing sideshoots. Stop them when they reach the tops of their supports.

Summer cauliflowers may need shading to prevent the curds scorching in bright sun.

Don't forget to stop cordon tomatoes by removing the main shoot. Look for the leaf that's above the fourth truss and cut it off here. This should ensure that all the fruits ripen by the end of the season. Bush tomatoes can be left to their own devices.

Climbing or cordon-grown vegetables may need checking to ensure they are tied in sufficiently to supports. Branches can easily snap off as the fruits mature. Leaves shading larger fruits can be removed to maximise sun exposure for ripening.

Any non self-blanching celery cultivars will need earthing up (with a protective collar of paper between the stems and the soil). Endive cultivars can be blanched by covering with an up-turned pot (with the drainage holes blocked off) filled with straw to exclude the light. Blanching makes these vegetables sweeter and tender.

Herbs can be harvested to keep the young shoots coming throughout the summer. Excess pickings can be dried for use throughout the year.

Ensure all vegetables get a regular, consistent supply of water, using rainwater or recycled grey water wherever possible . This will aid healthy development, and help to avoid diseases, disorders and bolting.

Continue to hoe off weeds in dry weather. Done in wet weather, the weeds are liable to re-root.

ednwireland

luckat wrote: »

Most potatoes grown today are blight resistant, but it's a good idea to spray the leaves with Bordeaux mixture in any case. This is regarded as an organic spray.
QUOTE]
bordeax mixture never understood how spraying copper on your garden is organic !
i've used a 10% full fat milk solution which seemed to do the trick. had blight in arran victory last year so not growing them again but i usually grow very blight resistant varieties (orla cara) and have very little problems up here in donegal

lucylu

It is recommended that you buy your potato seed and that it is certified. Certain varieties can carry black leg where the stems rot and a sickly foul rotting smell is given off

see http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3106.html

bored and tired

where do you think the potato farmers get there seed potatoes from??, the only difference is that farmers keep the smallest potatoes aside when grading to replant next year, as there is less profit in selling them than the larger sizes.
kerr pinks are a favourite of farmers near me and they are sown in March about paddys day, as the frost is usually gone then.

oats 2

we sowed, seed and shop bought.
so far seed slightly better but shop bought growing all the same

goat2

ednwireland wrote: »

luckat wrote: »

Most potatoes grown today are blight resistant, but it's a good idea to spray the leaves with Bordeaux mixture in any case. This is regarded as an organic spray.
QUOTE]
bordeax mixture never understood how spraying copper on your garden is organic !
i've used a 10% full fat milk solution which seemed to do the trick. had blight in arran victory last year so not growing them again but i usually grow very blight resistant varieties (orla cara) and have very little problems up here in donegal

what veg can we grow on during winter months

looksee

Leeks stand very well till about Christmas. Parsnips are better after frost. Brussles sprouts also stand after frost, but as far as I am concerned the frost can have them

goat2

looksee wrote: »

Leeks stand very well till about Christmas. Parsnips are better after frost. Brussles sprouts also stand after frost, but as far as I am concerned the frost can have them

you are brill, i like them all, so i will put in a few
just one question
is there a cabbage that can grow on through the winter, i would be looking at the kind that i can take a few leaves from head and leave the rest to grow on for next dinner, also does spinach live long into winter

fodda

I just realised this thread is 2 years old.

Here's an info site i found last week www.grow-your-own.ie

Parsnips are a great veg if you succeed in getting them to start off. They take a long time and right through into the winter and i love em. You can turn them into mash, fry them as chips, turn them into crisps , and you can roast them as well as just boiling them, and they taste far better than spuds.

Sprouts and winter cabbage all do better towards the end of the year. If it says "winter cabbage" on the packet then thats the one.

Spinach grows quite fast less than 2 months but i dont think it is a winter veg as such.

goat2

i have just put in my own leek, i had no room left to sow them, so i put them in one of those one euro bags, i have sown 10 in it, as i love leek and potato soup, but the last few times i made it, the leek did not have a proper taste it was more bland, it was shop bought leek, must have been pushed too much, but now if i am successful with this leek i will make it out of it and freeze it for the winter months

cold case

We bought seed potatoes about a month ago, but left them in the net bag and they have sprouted like mad. Can they still be planted ?

redser7

Yes they should be fine. If there are any really long white sprouts you can 'rub' them off. Ideally you want to keep short stubby shoots. Have a quick google for 'chitting potatoes'. If you rub the shoots off now, place the seed spuds sitting in egg boxes on a window ledge (but out of strong direct sunlight) they will grow new shoots they way you want them. You could put off planting them till early April. Or just bung them in the ground now There are arguements for early and late planting

cold case

Thanks Redser7, we will try that!

cold case

We planted garlic cloves in January, and I picked one now (mid-May), and they are shaped like leeks. The individual cloves are tiny. Are they going to grow more rounded-shaped in time, would anyone know please?

redser7

It's way too early to harvest garlic. July/August would be more like it. Wait till the foliage goes brown and starts to fall over. The bulbs will be still small but will start to bulk up soon. You could try to give them a feed now to help them along.

healyon

I've planted some potatoes out in drums in the garden, they haven't flowered yet, when should i expect this to happen

redser7

Depends when you planted them, were they earlies, second earlies or main crops. Also, some spuds dont flower. Best to have a careful rummage down the side and see whats going on.

Mo60

The 1st time we planted potatoes we bought seed potatoes from a local garden centre. These 'seed' potatoes were as big as the ordinary potatoes that you buy and ended up with the blight.

Since then I have just used the small potatoes left from bags that I have bought. A couple of times they were affected by blight, but so were peoples crops we know who had bought seed potatoes.

Anyone else go down this route?

redser7

Yes, did that this year with early spuds in buckets inthe polytunnel. Have been harvesting lovely salad spuds for a couple of weeks. Of course there is a risk, but lots of people do it.

Mo60

redser7 wrote: »

Yes, did that this year with early spuds in buckets inthe polytunnel. Have been harvesting lovely salad spuds for a couple of weeks. Of course there is a risk, but lots of people do it.

Which earlies did you plant and when did you plant them?

redser7

It was either Charlottes or Anabelle, can't remember to be honest. They are a waxy salad potato, lovely. Bought a bag in Tesco half price in December and chitted them for a month. Put them in large pots of homemade compost and manure with some fish, blood and bone. That was mid-January. I should have harvested tham all long by now but want to see how far I can push them for a larger yield.

cold case

My poor husband planted loads of peas this year for the first time, and only about 6 have come up and the slugs are tucking into some of them already! Any idea why so many didn't grow?
Also carrots tried to grow, but died off when they were tiny shoots.
Also onion seeds didn't grow either. Potatoes doing well so far.
Disappointing so far this year. Should he plant more onion and carrot seeds now and see if they fare any better, now that its warmer?