Right - thanks Ashdale. I'll get her to try it. She has a heap of compost and lots of old sand/cement sacks so it looks like that's how she's doing it.
I tried planting some earlies last autumn in a big pot in the greenhouse, thinking I might have some for Christmas. Nothing. But they started growing early in the new year and are now flopping over so I'm going to tip 'em out when I get back. Then the PJ will be ready in a week or two. Charlotte too and then Cara.
I wonder what would grow if you grew on the seed from the potato fruit. Has anyone tried it? Would they eventually after many years produce potatoes? Just wondering.
I'm sure you'd get potatoes (probably in the first or second year) but they wouldn't be the variety you started with and possibly inedible. Must be worth a try though.
And that's where your 'seed potatoes' come from - potato seeds are sown in soil which has not grown potatoes before; this is to avoid the potato plants contracting a virus.
They grow into potato plants which grow the potatoes which you buy from the garden centre to plant in your gardens.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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Right - thanks Ashdale. I'll get her to try it. She has a heap of compost and lots of old sand/cement sacks so it looks like that's how she's doing it.
I tried planting some earlies last autumn in a big pot in the greenhouse, thinking I might have some for Christmas. Nothing. But they started growing early in the new year and are now flopping over so I'm going to tip 'em out when I get back. Then the PJ will be ready in a week or two. Charlotte too
and then Cara.
To further the 'poison' aspect of potatoes, It should be understood that they & tomatoes are species of the (solanaceae) deadly-nightshade family.
I wonder what would grow if you grew on the seed from the potato fruit. Has anyone tried it? Would they eventually after many years produce potatoes? Just wondering.
Now there's an experiment to try.
I'm sure you'd get potatoes (probably in the first or second year) but they wouldn't be the variety you started with and possibly inedible. Must be worth a try though.
I might give that a go Steve 309, just for a bit of fun.
Well, that's where new varieties come from.
And that's where your 'seed potatoes' come from - potato seeds are sown in soil which has not grown potatoes before; this is to avoid the potato plants contracting a virus.
They grow into potato plants which grow the potatoes which you buy from the garden centre to plant in your gardens.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
No need to be rude Buddyboy - I do know what I am talking about - my brother is a large scale commercial potato grower.
As well as growing potatoes for the major supermarket chains he also grows first generation seed potatoes.
A simple explanation is given here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1274826/#b
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That's extremely patronising Buddyboy - and totally unnecessary. Dove has a lot of experience regarding this subject - as she has just explained.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Buddyboy - of course you can grow potatoes from saved tubers from the previous year's crop.
However, first generation seed potatoes are tubers from plants grown from seed - how else do you think new varieties are developed?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.