Once again I have some cracking foliage on the spuds growing in the bags. I have 6 rows of spuds here, approx. 12 bags to a row, with Kestrel, Maxine, Harmony, Camelot and Blue Belle. It takes between 12 and 16 weeks from planting to harvesting but the beauty of growing in the flexible bags is that you can tell when your tubers are coming up to your required size. You can actually feel the tubers through the plastic by having a furtle around them somewhat akin to fiddling with your bollocks through your trousers.
The likes of Sherie Plumb, Peter Clark and John Branham grow hundreds of bags and will actually sacrifice a bag when they think they are approaching size. If the tubers they find are at the right size they will harvest all of them, otherwise they will leave them awhile longer. I don't have the luxury of being able to do this so I will have to fondle a few bags before I decide whether to harvest, but this won't be until August. In the meantime if you spot me fidgeting with my tadpole sacs I'm merely keeping my fingers nimble for this hugely important upcoming task.
The optimum size for showing is about 7oz or big enough to fit in the palm of your hand but this isn't set in stone. A set of 8 oz or 6 oz tubers that are well matched and in good condition will still be more than acceptable, and at village level I think size is less important.
2 comments:
Simon. What's your watering regime for your potato bags, from sowing to harvest? R.
It can be awkward getting enough water when the bags are packed so tight.
Ideally you don't want the plants to go dry because that's when I think you get 'waspwaisted' spuds when they dry out and then start swelling again.
I try and trickle the hose pipe for 20 seconds or so into each bag once a week but that hasn't proved easy this year with 6 rows....I simply cannot reach into the middle bags....so I've watered heavily overhead with a watering can in the evenings only.....perhaps every 2 or 3 days in this weather.
Time will tell whether that's enough but I hope so. At lunch time today the tops were wilting but the compost felt fairly moist so it just shows that the plants will close down to a certain extent in really hot sunshine. By watering when the sun goes down I think you can maximise the effects of applying water.
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