Spuds question.

[peter]

My local potato farmer has a borehole which is piped all across the farm and gets used extensively.
My brother-in-law who is an agricultural scientists told me that in a good year you can get a twenty percent yield improvement by accurately timed irrigation, in a bad year it could be a manyfold improvement on your neighbour without irrigation.

Depends on your location as well I guess, we are only about fifty miles at most from the driest place in england, whereas JohnBoy is on the west coast.

[Johnboy]

Hi Peter,
I do not live on the west coast. You seem to have forgotten Wales.
(which, depending on your point of view, maybe a good thing )
I live in what is termed as the extreme West Midlands on the mid-Wales border. The Marches.
My plot is 1.5 miles from the river Teme and up at 500 ft. so it is not possible to irrigate but we manage to produce good solid potatoes just the same and 22 tons to the acre is as good as you will get!
My thought are that if you water potatoes you do not get the true flavour and the potatoes disintegrate when boiled or steamed.
If you as a home grower keep watering potatoes it may increase the weight of your yield but to the detriment of many things but just remember the extra weight is water not potato flesh.
JB.

[alan refail]

Hi Peter,
I do not live on the west coast. You seem to have forgotten Wales.
(which, depending on your point of view, maybe a good thing )
I live in what is termed as the extreme West Midlands on the mid-Wales border. The Marches.

Morning Johnboy

There was one memorable occasion in 2004 when you did live on the west coast - at least according to the EU who forgot to put Wales on the map.



Full story here

[Johnboy]

Morning Alan,
I only put the smilie bit in as a joke with you in mind! Imagining your face and you saying 'Cheeky Sod!'
I certainly appears that my feet would almost have been in the drink in 2004.
The amazing thing is that those producing the report didn't cotton to the fact that Wales was missing.
JB.

[Geoff]

I resurrect this thread to ask again about watering. I've taken JB's point about watering giving yield at the expense of flavour but wondered what the thoughts are in a Spring as dry as this. I'm only thinking of watering the First Earlies that are showing flower buds and should be ready to dig 3 to 4 weeks, the others will get the Summer deluge before too long no doubt.

[cherrystone]

What about watering potato sacks? I have put the majority of my pots into sacks this year as they take up too much space in the beds and to be quite honest for not a huge return.

[Johnboy]

Hi Geoff,
I take your point about a dry spring but Potatoes hereabouts are only just being sown.
My Earlies were earthed-up from day one and although we have gone through a brief period of drought I still wouldn't consider watering.
I like my Maris Bard like I like my Amber Nectar, Neat!
The only thing I take with Amber Nectar is another shot on top!
JB.

[John]

It has been very dry here for some time and I have a light soil so I've had to water my potato plantings. I found soaker hoses very useful for this. I peg the hoses over the rows at planting and then eventually earth up over them. Once the potatoes have a good head of foliage and the rows merge together its almost impossible to water them properly with a can or hose. Even when it rains most of the water seems to be shed away from the plants. With the soaker hoses in place though water still gets straight to the roots and you don't have to waste time standing there watering by hand.



The far row under the cloches are Maris Bard (end cloche lifted just for photo) waiting to be earthed up. In front are Charlotte and then Nicola which haven't had any protection. Mulch is grass mowings which I rotovate in just before earthing up.

Watering seems to be most effective as the plants begin to clump up and the immature potatoes (marbles) being to swell.

John

[John P]

Like Johnboy I earth up at time of planting (ridges),then once more at about six to eight inches. I dont water unless in prolonged dry spells,then only between ridges as I find that damp leaves encourage blight

[Johnboy]

Hi John and John P,
You say that sprayed water goes away from the foliage and even when it rains the water is shed away from the foliage. Well if you think about it John the roots grow away from the foliage and it is the roots that will take up the water to maintain the foliage so I don't really see this as a problem.
I find earthing-up from day one has worked the best method for me and have now done so for many years. I only grow Maris Bard and now only one 30ft row and that generally supplies too many earlies and the last few plants provide some rather large specimens that are every bit as good as Maris Piper for every way you wish to serve up your potatoes.
Blight has not been a problem for me and have only had blight on my outdoor Tomatoes once. (which was once too much)
JB.