potato bag help needed

[cornerstone]

yes decaff i always do that, it is just like germinating seeds first to make sure they are alive, that way you get everything, just as soon as you see they are alive move those that are green and leave the dead ones out

[grenfell]

A few years ago I tried to make a written list of potatoe yields while growing several varieties . The answer to the original question is thus not really possible to give without knowing what type of potatoes you have planted. I haven't searched to see if I still have that list but from memory I can recall for instance that "homeguard" which is an early gave a low weight of smaller potatoes.

second earlies i am going to plant, only first and second earlies are the ones the maincrop are just not really worth it i think.

I've sometimes wondered if growing any potatoe is actually "worth it" . Largish bags are available at supermarkets from £2-4 so the (monetary ) value of your crop is always likely to be low so it could be argued that growing something of higher cost would make more sense.
Going back to the little experiment I did weighing , sizing and of course tasting my potatoes I had several varieties ( Casablanca was another which cropped well and passed on the taste/texture side too) but also a few rows of what I termed "bin tatters" . These were potatoes found in people's bins . I work on garden maintainence so have access , I don't just look in people's bins randomly. No knowledge as to what they were exactly although I suspect a lot to be Maris piper or king Edwards . Some came ready chatted as it were but it was surprising how many perfectly good edible ones were to be found. Anyway , it's a pity I didn't know the varieties as I've always had decent results , I purposely kept them separate .
I've been struggling for time this year as work has been busy , I'm only on here now because it's absolutely bucketing it down , and my own garden has been a bit neglected but I have been able to transfer the self sets into a bed of their own as I've been turning the soil over which means this year I will have a crop of odds and sods of unknown variety.
Not potatoes in the strictest sense but last year I tried some sweet potatoes . Mostly in the greenhouse although a couple were planted outside. The outside ones did nothing , the greenhouse ones gave me a crop but I wouldn't in all honesty say they are something worth growing.

[featherstick]

I think spuds, carrots and onions will always be cheap and are hardly worth the effort of growing oneself. Having said that, I almost always grow some spuds, although I am successfully reducing the area. My thinking is that WTSHTF, at least we'll have something in the ground, and some seed potatoes for next year.

[cornerstone]

I think spuds, carrots and onions will always be cheap and are hardly worth the effort of growing oneself. Having said that, I almost always grow some spuds, although I am successfully reducing the area. My thinking is that WTSHTF, at least we'll have something in the ground, and some seed potatoes for next year.

i did used to think like that too why should i because they are so cheap, but i do it mainly because in a bad weather i am cut off so that is why i do it, but i stick to spuds i have cleared out the outhouse and it really is a good one, with windows so it is a lot like a greenhouse i am planning on one bag for one month so 6 bags at one month intervals just spuds and some onions from the ceiling, nothing else.
Just mash i have in mind with onions.

only the first and second earlies because the others take too long.

[grenfell]

This site seems to give decent advice ,
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetabl ... rowing.php

[Decaff]

This site seems to give decent advice ,
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetabl ... rowing.php

Great site! Thank you Grenfel.

Replying to the post above now, re is it worth growing potatoes as they are so cheap to buy. You can get most veg really cheap now when buying in season. So is it worth actually growing anything?? I think yes, the satisfaction of seeing your food growing, knowing how to grow it, harvest it and then eating it. You can't "buy" this experience and should the worst happen you at the very least will be able to supply yourself and your family with food. Of course the other positives are being out in the fresh air, getting exercise from digging and caring for your garden/allotment, knowing the cycles of the food growing times. Knowledge is power and "this knowledge" could potentially save you from starvation. So yes, I think growing the humble potato is worth it.

[cornerstone]

This site seems to give decent advice ,
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetabl ... rowing.php

Great site! Thank you Grenfel.

Replying to the post above now, re is it worth growing potatoes as they are so cheap to buy. You can get most veg really cheap now when buying in season. So is it worth actually growing anything?? I think yes, the satisfaction of seeing your food growing, knowing how to grow it, harvest it and then eating it. You can't "buy" this experience and should the worst happen you at the very least will be able to supply yourself and your family with food. Of course the other positives are being out in the fresh air, getting exercise from digging and caring for your garden/allotment, knowing the cycles of the food growing times. Knowledge is power and "this knowledge" could potentially save you from starvation. So yes, I think growing the humble potato is worth it.

I totally agree it is well worth it, just get into the habit even, make your own compost too
endless supply

[featherstick]

Well, it's a personal preference of course, but given the choice between growing potatoes, carrots and onions, or raspberries, strawberries, sweetcorn and squash, it's the latter every time, with a few spuds tucked in around the edges.

[grenfell]

This site seems to give decent advice ,
http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetabl ... rowing.php

Great site! Thank you Grenfel.

Replying to the post above now, re is it worth growing potatoes as they are so cheap to buy. You can get most veg really cheap now when buying in season. So is it worth actually growing anything?? I think yes, the satisfaction of seeing your food growing, knowing how to grow it, harvest it and then eating it. You can't "buy" this experience and should the worst happen you at the very least will be able to supply yourself and your family with food. Of course the other positives are being out in the fresh air, getting exercise from digging and caring for your garden/allotment, knowing the cycles of the food growing times. Knowledge is power and "this knowledge" could potentially save you from starvation. So yes, I think growing the humble potato is worth it.

I totally agree it is well worth it, just get into the habit even, make your own compost too
endless supply

Yep
If one looks at things purely from a monetary point of view and add the value of the crops along with the time spent which could be better used earning more money then it's not worth it . In the same way clothes can be brought very cheaply so repairing and patching isn't worth it , collecting chopping and storing firewood isn't worth it in comparison to the current cost of gas and there are probably a dozen other things that looked at it that way aren't worth it. Will it stop me gardening , repairing and wood cutting ? Will it heck as like , "worth it" means so much more than simple economics.

[cornerstone]

yes i agree it will certainly be worth it in the winter for me, just to know i have that stuff there as for carrots and peas no i will stick to the tins, but for jacket potatoes i am going to go for it.
They did seem an awful lot bigger when i grew them i have to say that, you can also get the next crop out of it if you save a few of the smaller ones, i would have kept it up but circumstances were not good, now i have cleared out that outhouse i have plans, i must admit it.