Spuds

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bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
I've had a go at growing some veg this year but I'm totally ignorant when it comes to knowing what to expect. My spuds went in mid/late May but I don't know when they will be ready to dig up. Today I've noticed what look like green tomatoes growing on them! Help!!

magooagain

9,908 posts

169 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
Hook some up and take a look.

Big Al.

68,797 posts

257 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
When growing pots, you must "Earth up" to keep direct sunlight off the tubers.

CharlesdeGaulle

26,089 posts

179 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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Are you certain it wasn't toms you planted?!

If you planted earlies, I suspect that they are ready and the flower head has formed a bud, which is the 'tomato' you're seeing. As someone said, dig some up and see.

As an aside, my yields seemed really low this year. I always plant first earlies in big bins, but this year has been a poor crop.

bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
Big Al. said:
When growing pots, you must "Earth up" to keep direct sunlight off the tubers.
I did that early on but now can't get in to add anymore as they're too busy. These tomato type things are high up on the plant among the leaves.

bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Are you certain it wasn't toms you planted?!

If you planted earlies, I suspect that they are ready and the flower head has formed a bud, which is the 'tomato' you're seeing. As someone said, dig some up and see.

As an aside, my yields seemed really low this year. I always plant first earlies in big bins, but this year has been a poor crop.
Does 8-10 weeks sound about right?

CharlesdeGaulle

26,089 posts

179 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
bernhund said:
Does 8-10 weeks sound about right?
Sounds pretty quick to me. Can you pull or dig one up to check?

bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
I've just been out and had a poke around. I have spuds!


netherfield

2,668 posts

183 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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No wonder they look like tomatoes, they are from the same family,you really need to cut them off asap, no point in your plants putting energy in to making seeds when what you want are tubers.

I have also had poor yields this year, I reckon the early wet weather made the haulm grow madly at the expense of the spuds.

As a rule first earlies 10/12 weeks, second earlies 12/14 weeks, early maincrop 16 weeks, Maincrop 20 weeks or until the tops die off.

netherfield

2,668 posts

183 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
Don't eat the green ones, they'll upset you stomach.

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
quotequote all
What variety are they?

This is the first year we've not grown any due to them not making any money.

The cool, wet, and quiet dark spring won't have helped spud yields this year.

Normally the grower will have a pretty good idea when his crop is due to be harvested from planting date for each variety, then add in some experience and few local factors like which way the field is facing, even so, he'll still go out with a fork to do some test digs before the harvester starts to roll.

Spuds are related to tomatoes. They will flower and the little tomatoes you see are their fruit and they're full of seeds. There is absolutely no need to cut them off, in fact the cut is likely to allow blight in. Consider it a sign of health. My harvester used to get caked in squashed spud berries.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

169 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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Not sure how practical it is but you can get combined tomato/potato plants!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24281192

Don't try eating tomatoes from a normal potato plant though because you'll discover it's the same family as deadly nightshade!

227bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Tuesday 26th July 2016
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You harvest them when the tops die off.

bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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So what happens now? Do I dig the whole lot up and put them in a bag in a cool dark place? Or just dig some up and leave the plant itself alone to grow more (does that work?). Some of the plants have darker green foliage than others, so is this significant? And why are there some green ones?
The cork in the photo is to give you an indication of size, so from that do the spuds look the right size to have harvested? And finally, if I do dig the whole lot up, plant and all, what would you plant immediately in the same bed?
My apologies for so many questions!

227bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
Rather than apologise just Google it.
See my reply above, although that is for big potatoes, if you want smaller then dig them up earlier.
They're green because you didn't put enough soil on to cover them.

LivingTheDream

1,753 posts

178 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Don't dig them all up - just take what you need. I often leave my main crop potatoes in the ground even after all the tops have died away and am often digging up potatoes in October/November.

Do you know the variety? They look like a salad pot and so they are an excellent size.

The green on some will be where they are exposed to sunlight - hence the reason to continually earth up around the base of the plant. Cut the green but off if it's only partial or throw the completely green ones.

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
bernhund said:
So what happens now? Do I dig the whole lot up and put them in a bag in a cool dark place? Or just dig some up and leave the plant itself alone to grow more (does that work?).
No no no no no never.

What you have growing how is green top new potatoes. If you fancy spuds for tea, get your fork out and dig up what you need for that meal and leave the rest where they are. This is exactly what we do on farms. You get an order for X tonnes, you go out and harvest them and when you have enough, the harvester stops. The harvest date at this time of the year is driven by market prices, but as you're not selling them, if they are the size you want to eat them, then eat them, if not, leave them longer. The small ones tend to taste nicer at his time of the year, but it is entirely up to you.

Later in the year, the time will depend on planting date and variety, the plants will start to sinese (not sure on the spelling, which means mature. The foliage will start to die off and go yellow. The main crop varieties will do this in early September. What you then do it let the completely die off and the cut off the haulm and leave them until the skins have set, so you can't rub the skin off with your thumb. You can safely leave them in the ground, but they are susceptible to frost damage and don't like sitting in wet soil. You then harvest them then leave them in your shed to dry out, once they are dry put them in storage. We used to store them in tonne boxes in a insulated shed. Try and keep them around 8 degrees C. They will want to sprout in the spring. You won't have access to sprout suppressant, so eat them. Until they are ready to store, just dig 'em up as you want them.

bernhund said:
Some of the plants have darker green foliage than others, so is this significant?
If they are different varieties, the foliage will be different shades of green. Nutrition and water will also effect the colour. More fertiliser will make them darker. They will go pale and droopy if they are thirsty.

bernhund said:
And why are there some green ones?
Potatoes are vegetative extensions of the stem and when they come into contact with day like they will start to photosynthesise and go green. To stop this, keep them covered with dirt and when you store them, store them somewhere dark.

bernhund said:
The cork in the photo is to give you an indication of size, so from that do the spuds look the right size to have harvested?


If you like the size of them, they are the right size. We will delay harvesting to allow the crop to bulk up. You are just using them yourself, so it's entirely up to you.

bernhund said:
And finally, if I do dig the whole lot up, plant and all, what would you plant immediately in the same bed?
My apologies for so many questions!
I don't know what you would grow after in an allotment, but remember that the days are getting shorter now, so you want something that will be up and growing quickly. You could probably grow beans or onions, but don't grow potatoes on the same bit of land for at least 5 years, ideally 6. All of your crops should be rotated.

I hope this is of some use.

Nimby

4,572 posts

149 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
CharlesdeGaulle said:
... As an aside, my yields seemed really low this year. I always plant first earlies in big bins, but this year has been a poor crop.
In contrast it was one of our best years ever. Loads of lovely Charlottes (2nd earlies). I've just lifted them all rather than leave in the ground for the slugs.

bernhund

Original Poster:

3,767 posts

192 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
Willy Nilly said:
bernhund said:
So what happens now? Do I dig the whole lot up and put them in a bag in a cool dark place? Or just dig some up and leave the plant itself alone to grow more (does that work?).
No no no no no never.

What you have growing how is green top new potatoes. If you fancy spuds for tea, get your fork out and dig up what you need for that meal and leave the rest where they are. This is exactly what we do on farms. You get an order for X tonnes, you go out and harvest them and when you have enough, the harvester stops. The harvest date at this time of the year is driven by market prices, but as you're not selling them, if they are the size you want to eat them, then eat them, if not, leave them longer. The small ones tend to taste nicer at his time of the year, but it is entirely up to you.

Later in the year, the time will depend on planting date and variety, the plants will start to sinese (not sure on the spelling, which means mature. The foliage will start to die off and go yellow. The main crop varieties will do this in early September. What you then do it let the completely die off and the cut off the haulm and leave them until the skins have set, so you can't rub the skin off with your thumb. You can safely leave them in the ground, but they are susceptible to frost damage and don't like sitting in wet soil. You then harvest them then leave them in your shed to dry out, once they are dry put them in storage. We used to store them in tonne boxes in a insulated shed. Try and keep them around 8 degrees C. They will want to sprout in the spring. You won't have access to sprout suppressant, so eat them. Until they are ready to store, just dig 'em up as you want them.

bernhund said:
Some of the plants have darker green foliage than others, so is this significant?
If they are different varieties, the foliage will be different shades of green. Nutrition and water will also effect the colour. More fertiliser will make them darker. They will go pale and droopy if they are thirsty.

bernhund said:
And why are there some green ones?
Potatoes are vegetative extensions of the stem and when they come into contact with day like they will start to photosynthesise and go green. To stop this, keep them covered with dirt and when you store them, store them somewhere dark.

bernhund said:
The cork in the photo is to give you an indication of size, so from that do the spuds look the right size to have harvested?


If you like the size of them, they are the right size. We will delay harvesting to allow the crop to bulk up. You are just using them yourself, so it's entirely up to you.

bernhund said:
And finally, if I do dig the whole lot up, plant and all, what would you plant immediately in the same bed?
My apologies for so many questions!
I don't know what you would grow after in an allotment, but remember that the days are getting shorter now, so you want something that will be up and growing quickly. You could probably grow beans or onions, but don't grow potatoes on the same bit of land for at least 5 years, ideally 6. All of your crops should be rotated.

I hope this is of some use.
Well answers don't come better or clearer than that! Thank you.
These are Thompson & Morgan Estima second early pots. I had no idea what 'second early' meant when I bought them and in fact still don't know whether what I have is what would be expected in the time they've been in. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't matter if they have produced a good and tasty yield!

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
bernhund said:
Well answers don't come better or clearer than that! Thank you.
These are Thompson & Morgan Estima second early pots. I had no idea what 'second early' meant when I bought them and in fact still don't know whether what I have is what would be expected in the time they've been in. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't matter if they have produced a good and tasty yield!
I suppose Thomson and Morgan are the breeders, Estima is the variety. We grew Maris Brad as a first early. Nearly all our crop went for processing (chip shops). We grew a few acres of Estima for green grocers. Estima mature later than Bard and are a more general purpose eating variety. We did harvest a few without storing them, but most of them were allowed to die off, which they may start doing in the next couple of weeks. One thing you need to watch for is slugs! They might not be there now, but the longer you leave them in the ground, the more likely it is that slugs will attack!

It's not an issue really this year, but if you grow them again and you need to water them, the need 3mm of water a day. So if you have 1 square meter of crop, put 3 litres of water on that area each day. if you get 9mm of rain, hold off watering for 3 days. Idealy water them at night or first thing in the morning.

Have a squizz at his too. http://potatoes.ahdb.org.uk/