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Tatties

• Message 1. 

  Posted by zulu (U14347742) on Thursday, 9th June 2011

  Being fairly new to growing these things there is something I've observed this year.
  Last year I dumped the old tattie soil straight onto a spare piece of ground to build the area up with more soil if nothing else. I've noticed several large tattie plants growing quite vigorously thank you. I didn't realize that they were there.
  Now, I've read several articles and seen pictures of the way these are supposed to be 'earthed up' but these haven't been and are growing away.
  Is this another case of just getting on with it with the minimum fuss? This actually happened to me a few years ago as well and they were the most tasty tats we have tasted and they weren't even seed tats either, left over from your favourite supermarket.
  Have any of you good people found this happens? Thanks.
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Thursday, 9th June 2011

  They are called volunteers and I should think most people get one or two. Earthing up is only to prevent greening because some of the potatoes will be produced near the soil surface.
  
  I know it seems like a good idea to plant any old potato from the supermarket, but there is a risk. Seed potatoes are specially grown. They usually do not carry diseases, but supermarket potato plants are sprayed within an inch of their lives to prevent diseases, so they may be prone to them .
  
  Our local garden centre had 95 varieties for sale this year so you should be able to buy your tasty potatoes pretty generally if you know the name.
  
  You may be lucky 9 years out of 10, but you may get early blight, and lose them.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by zulu (U14347742) on Thursday, 9th June 2011

  Thanks for your kind reply and advice and I realize just what your saying. I always learn the hard way, there's always one isn't there?
  
  Believe it or not I did buy a bag of earlies and later tatties seedlings this year. I can only sow, due to lack of space in deep 30 cm pots but their coming on well albeit the high winds we lately in Edinburgh tried it's best to flatten them but the pots were severely lashed down.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by kate1123 (U14824475) on Friday, 10th June 2011

  I have a volunteer in my flower bed which I have left to keep the cats off spare ground. Will I have potatoes growing, I have not earthed up, when can I dig it up?

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by seonag1 (U14476426) on Friday, 10th June 2011

  They are called volunteers and I should think most people get one or two. Earthing up is only to prevent greening because some of the potatoes will be produced near the soil surface.
  
  I know it seems like a good idea to plant any old potato from the supermarket, but there is a risk. Seed potatoes are specially grown. They usually do not carry diseases, but supermarket potato plants are sprayed within an inch of their lives to prevent diseases, so they may be prone to them .
  
  Our local garden centre had 95 varieties for sale this year so you should be able to buy your tasty potatoes pretty generally if you know the name.
  
  You may be lucky 9 years out of 10, but you may get early blight, and lose them.  If I am reading the original posting correctly - it is soil from last year’s growbag thingies that is producing tatties - no mention was made of putting old shop bought tatties- I have a few bonus plants coming up too, I obviously missed some small tatties last year because I have a number coming up in the site of last year’s patch

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by gaffelbiter (U14481810) on Friday, 10th June 2011

  It's interesting how gardeners treat volunteers. Some see them an unexpected bonus, others as weed ; a plant in the wrong place. If it's in the middle of my parsnips it's a weed, in between the sweet corn it can stay. Though I believe it's good husbandry to remove them.

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by John (U14257971) on Saturday, 11th June 2011

  Yep - If your garden has potato root eelworm, and most old gardens do, leaving volunteers or groundkeepers growing allows the nematode to keep multiplying.

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