Christmas Potatoes - Too late to plant now?

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networkn

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Topic # 150962 9-Aug-2014 10:55

Hi There!

Is it too late next weekend to plant some Potatoes in the hope i can have a large lots worth on Christmas day?

I am too sick to plant them this weekend.

Cheers

timmmay

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Reply # 1105307 9-Aug-2014 10:59

Useful guide here. You'll probably be ok. I may plant some too.

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networkn

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Reply # 1105547 9-Aug-2014 18:35

Any ideas where I can get some Jersey Bennie Seed Potatoes ready to go into the ground?

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Fred99

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Reply # 1105602 9-Aug-2014 20:28

networkn: Any ideas where I can get some Jersey Bennie Seed Potatoes ready to go into the ground?

At a garden shop or garden department in a hardware store.
If you read the link Timmmay posted above, then time to harvest is 80-90 days. So relax - you've got plenty of time. It may be too early to plant - the new shoots don't like frost. The stores may not even have seed potato stock in yet.

networkn

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Reply # 1105617 9-Aug-2014 21:05

Fred99:
networkn: Any ideas where I can get some Jersey Bennie Seed Potatoes ready to go into the ground?

At a garden shop or garden department in a hardware store.
If you read the link Timmmay posted above, then time to harvest is 80-90 days. So relax - you've got plenty of time. It may be too early to plant - the new shoots don't like frost. The stores may not even have seed potato stock in yet.

Yah good thinking.

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Reply # 1105660 9-Aug-2014 23:12

You still have plenty of time, I normally plant Swift or jersey Benne in late September and they are ready for Christmas day. I will normally buy them mid--late august and sprout them a few weeks before planting.

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Reply # 1105663 9-Aug-2014 23:19

andrewbnz: You still have plenty of time, I normally plant Swift or jersey Benne in late September and they are ready for Christmas day. I will normally buy them mid--late august and sprout them a few weeks before planting.

So you buy specific seed potatoes or you buy a box at the supermarket and let them sprout?

Thanks for the advice.

Seems like the old lady next door with very green fingers is keen to assist, I gave her our $20 plant barn voucher and she said she would sort it.

andrewbnz

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Reply # 1105665 9-Aug-2014 23:26

Yea, I pick up specific seed potatoes from a garden centre.

A few other tips I have found produce a good crop:

Work the soil well with a fork before planting so it is loose not hard and clumpy
A week before planting the potatoes work some potato fertiliser into the soil then add a little more when planting
Dig a little bit of a trench then plant the potatoes in the bottom, then as the plants grow mound up the soil around the plants stems.

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Reply # 1105666 9-Aug-2014 23:28

What is a typical yield would you know? If I wanted a weeks worth of nightly spuds for a 4 person family, how many potatoes should I plant?

andrewbnz

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Reply # 1105668 9-Aug-2014 23:30

Um... I usually buy a bag of seed potatoes and split if with my father. In the past I have got between 10-20kg of spuds

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Reply # 1105669 9-Aug-2014 23:32

andrewbnz: Um... I usually buy a bag of seed potatoes and split if with my father. In the past I have got between 10-20kg of spuds

Wow so pretty decent then.

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Reply # 1105670 9-Aug-2014 23:35

Can be... My father using the same seed potatoes, but different soil and location gets less

Jase2985

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Reply # 1105747 10-Aug-2014 09:02

first year i got about 20kg from about 8 seed potatoes, second year i got maybe 5-6, they were planted in a different part of the garden too, just not sure what happened there. Going to try again this year and see what happens.

Zippity

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Reply # 1105766 10-Aug-2014 09:54

Plant some "Heather" potatoes.

They have a purple skin and a white flesh and are probably the best tasting 'spud' you will ever grow.

SepticSceptic

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Reply # 1106187 11-Aug-2014 09:22

Labour weekend works well if you want small n waxy Xmas spuds.

Try a few varieties of the maori potatoes - totally different class of taste n texture.

Have used stacked car tyres, potato grow bags, raised beds - all seem to work well for either types

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Fred99

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Reply # 1106356 11-Aug-2014 12:39

They like plenty of wateri, good compost and/or fertiliser. For a small garden, probably easiest just to buy a proprietary "potato fertiliser" supposedly with optimised NPK ratio. I've just used Nitrophoska TE - and that seemed fine.
We don't eat potatoes much, but freshly dug new potatoes where the skin wipes off with your fingers are a treat - if you don't grow your own, you're lucky if you can get them that good at any price at supermarkets etc. I agree Labour weekend has been about right for planting for Xmas spuds in Chch (Port Hills - so well frost-free by then). In a more frost-prone area, then sprouting them before planting would give a few weeks safety margin. (I've just bunged them straight in - never had a problem / failed crop).