UK,Thank you can you do a video on the pruning process? As I understand as the plants growing you pull all the small tubas of and leave just 1-2?,,,TY73s
UK, in the bucket that produced small tubers, did you consider that it may have been due to the size of the cutting that you planted? It may not have been the fault of the perlite at all. My aunt and uncle were potato farmers years sago (among other things), and when they first bought their farm and started out, they were rookies, but learned to buy certified seed potatoes and divide them before planting. They were later disappointed in the size and quantity and thought it was the fault of the seed. My aunt's husband (a rather crusty and arrogant old coot) contacted the seller and raised heck making assorted accusations. The seller calmly asked him how many cuttings he made from each seed potato. When my uncle told him, the seller rattled my uncle's ego, telling him you never cut them apart with less than three eyes in each segment and enough bulk to give the sprouts enough energy to start to reproduce. They wanted to stretch the seed they bought because they didn't have many resources left after purchasing the farm. Just a thought..
What do you do with the soil for after you’ve grown potatoes in it? Does it need to be enriched? Do you use it for another crop instead of spuds to avoid disease? Or is it back in with a new seed-tattie? Or simply discarded?
Nice upload; thank you! As a kid I grew up in dry arid desert in eastern WA state, USA...and the spuds grown there were huge! Good luck; as you say, it's the journey! Great philosophy! Blessings.🙏💌👍👍🎶😊🍃Greetings, grandma WA state,USA
Been watching your videos for quite a while, was unable to comment from wifes computer. Started growing in containers like you and it's working very nice, watched lots of your videos, great job! I am in the pacific NW with similar climate. grew spuds in ground last year and found a few leftovers in the garden this spring and they were in great edible shape, actually Very Good (perfect) for being in our sodden ground all winter. Thanks for all the videos and information, really appreciate it, L & S!!
The heats been incredible here, 114F, with high humidity. I don't even have to cook my veg, I just go out to the garden with my salt/pepper and eat it off the vine...😉
Thank you Tony for a very experimental and a competitive video. From what I understand the first bucket had large potatoes the second bucket you were disappointed because of the vermiculite the third bucket you were also disappointed but you didn't tell us why what's in the third bucket. And it's also nice to know what's in the first bucket so we can compare all three and see what's a better soil hope to hear from you soon thanks.
Hi Yaya, Just compost in both the third and first buckets, The idea behind this video was to get a single tuber as large as possible for a world record attempt. Sorry If I didn't make myself clear. Sometimes you lose your train of thought in front of a camera. You can practise a million times but as soon as you click to record the wrong stuff keeps coming ut lol
Tony I would be so excited if I got one potato- as you know I am currently growing my first time potatoes in a hessian bag & am really pleased to say I am having success so far- well I am getting shoots or plants growing out of the soil which I keep covering up with my home made compost & the bag is just about full so fingers crossed for me- now I just wait. Cheers Denise - Australia
Dear Simplify, You shouldn't be disappointed by that awesome yield!! I live in the s/w desert, USA, where 9months of the year it's around 110 degrees, there's 5-8 inches of rainfall a year, and the soil is almost pure CLAY. (Makes terrific homemade BRICKS though!) I would be ecstatic if I could sprout/grow ONE potatoe!
We're in Maine USA and haven't had any rain at all for over a month. It's nice though, no funk on anything! We are watering and potatoes have no bugs! Hope to have a lot but not sure where I will store them.
Hi Tony, nice reveal. They are a decent size even though you were attempting the Big one.. Like you say, they make a nice meal so nothing lost. Thanks for sharing.
That's right Rod. The biggest of the year will go to next years seed and the rest will end up on the table in one form or another. Happy gardening mate
Thank you so much I'm learning with you! We learn when we fail as painful as it is for me and others we can go forward! Thank you Thank you Thank you💕💯❤️😁
It looks like the purlite and vermiculite encouraged more roots at the expense of the potatoes, it also would have retained less moisture. I have had good results growing salad veg and carrots in blue plastic chemical drums cut in half. Less watering and I can take a seat to cut the leaves. Wood chips in the bottom, rotted compost in the middle and purchased potting compost on top. Filled six inches below the rim, the seedlings get a good wind break. The mice and rabbits don’t get a look in.
Super hands on, dirt under the nails, voice of experience video Tony! I have been experimenting also. To date: a raised cone bed, wrapped with black plastic on the incline. 10 lbs one plant. I couldn't provide under plastic drip-irrigation. 😞Plastic in sandy soil can be your plant's best friend, or worst enemy. I don't use black plastic pots because: not enough oxygen, moisture expires too quickly, and when pots are in direct sun-light, temps reach as high as 120 degrees! Not uncommon in NW Wis. Pot's micro-organisms and roots get cooked. Gardeners learn something new, every year! 40 and counting 🙂
Sorry you didn't get the result you wanted mate,at least you got some nice eaters out of them.There's always something to learn by experimenting.In any case you don't know what the others will turn out like yet :)
@@simplifygardening funny that ,she didnt water them at all the soil has a bluish tint it was once covered by peat bog hence acidic and it held water quiet well.but god did the spuds teste really good.
my first time to plant potatoes and I did it in a five gallon bucket. I will be harvesting in july. I am following the tips I see here in the different gardens I watch.
It’s amazing… if I had a garden I will practically live in morning noon and nigh. I have a very small balcony space and I have grown tomatoes n they got lots of fruits n. Flowers, passionfruit creeper. Green pepper n curry leaves, green grass.I’ll soon grow potatoes as well.
Nice harvest. Nature is such a miracle. It's easy for people like me to forget that potatoes don't originate at the supermarket. They come from the Earth and with thanks to farmers.
hi Tony, i dont understand this "perlite AND vermiculite" concept at all. Both can loosen up the soil but vermiculite acts like a sponge, it helps to retain moisture, you use it if you live in a relatively dry area and want to save on water(ing). Perlite on the other hand doesnt retain any moisture at all, so you use it to help drainage, if you live in an area with a lot of rain for example. So did you want to retain moisture (vermiculite) or get rid of it (perlite)? It should be an either / or not both. I live in Ireland, it's generally wet here, so i added a lot of perlite to the grapevines but i used vermiculite as a cover when i sowed carrots to make sure they dont dry out not even for a second before they have a chance to germinate. The other thing im thinking of is that if you found the potatoes pushing out, maybe you could use a larger container next time. Seems like the ones you have are good for average size potatoes, but if you want to grow giant ones, you may need something much larger than those to make sure they have enough space to grow huuuuuge comfortably. Anyway, not a bad harvest at all, especially not under such circumstances like the drought you have. I wanted to give them a try too this year, but couldnt get kondor seed potatoes anywhere so planted sarpo mira. :-) So dont be disappointed, you've been still much luckier than i was. :-)
The perlite can help to retain moisture but it wasnt there for that. it was there to help give structure to the soil to help with compactation and the vermiculite was to hold moisture. The idea behind it was to try and help create a lighter soil mix that would be easier for the tubers to grow in. This didnt work as we saw
Live and learn Tony. Surprised that Perlite would slow the growth as it holds moisture and boy has it been dry to the last 2 months!!!! Growing loads of spuds to show - the reveals are on my UA-cam Channel. Two unusual ones that I am hopeful for are the metre high potato tower (my tower is 1m+ and the haulms are taller than me LOL) and the other is a copy of your single eye on a sliver of skin that you did a year? ago ---- it is massive! A pity we cannot add photo comments. Steve
Do you ever respond to questions like instead of having your holes in the bottom of your container. Have them about a inch up so the roots of the plant will always have water to drink that should help the plant to grow
This same thing happened to the giant veg growers in Yorkshire. All their 'Single' spuds put out lots of tubers and they had lots of joined together ones.
Yeah the joined ones havent actually joined but the potato was a mutant shape, they are the ones that have the potential to get huge. I have 4 more containers for this years chance and will be opening them shortly. Who knows whats under the soil
You have a great yield and a crop to be happy about. Speak only good words and project love peace and increase. See what happens next season. Beautiful bakers.
regular black garden soil with some sand, since it is a root producing plant add bone and blood meal 1/2 cup of each in that size bucket and as I said leave only the largest stem
last year my potatoes were woeful. can you overfertilize? i used large 60 litere buckets, compost and i added a handfull each of potato feed and blood fish and bone. the haulms were huge.. 6ft tall but no potatoes
Yes, you overfed, 3 ounces of feed at most. Reduce the pot size to 30 litres and make sure there is no nitrogen. the compost you used must have been packed with it to get haulms so large. the pot size will reduce yield so ensure you get a pot around 30 litres or 8 to 10 US gallons
Thanks for the recommendation for the Containers from Oakland Gardens shame you didn't get anything from them for all the recommendations you must of sent them loads of customers
i,d say not enough sand and way to much compost, not at all like the potatoe patches i worked in, but i could be wrong, as i have not been cutting seed for over 20 years now and they produce some giants.. thank you for the video.. have a blessed and safe day
When is the right time to plant potato and how do you know when to harvest..pls reply..thank you..I love to plant and eat potatoes specially the red potatoes..
I keep getting your videos in my recommendations. I hope you read this comment. Your videos are great. I'm wanting to move to Europe from the UK and I have an allotment and I want to grow potatoes. Your videos are very informative. I just need to convince my girlfriend as it will require a lot of space. Have a nice day.
A good lesson for us all with the Perlite and Vermiculite 👍🏻. You need a X-Ray machine to keep an eye on them.😄😄😄. Will you keep the big potatoes for next year seed?
Yeah Nigel I will keep all the biggest for seed. I have 5 other buckets as well as 2 120 litre ones, see what follows those . but the perlite and vermiculite really surprised me
Marie you remove tubers and leave one. Constantly pulling tubers off as they form. This is to try for a world record you wouldnt do this for large potatoes.Check out tonights video on growing potatoes ua-cam.com/video/dtfWSv8IsD8/v-deo.html This might be of interest to you
Good spuds in the first bucket. Good result. I noticed the first bucket was a bigger size? I’m growing Nicola in 30 litre buckets done alright, considering the weather. I’ve just emptied 2 out of 6 so far I’m going to leave the rest for a while as hope they will be ok. I bet the cost of potatoes in the shops will go up this year, so glad to have some on hand. I had quite a few come up in the bed that were left behind from last year...nuisance but the onions coped with the invaders, although I bet they would have done better without. Those potatoes (same variety)are bigger and grew in the surface compost as I’m doing no dig in that bed. At least with buckets you don’t have the problem of them being left behind. The perlite experiment was useful, thanks, great video Tony.
Yes I have grown a lot of mine in the ground this year as a challenge by someone I do not hold out for great hopes to be honest. Perlite really surprised me. Nothing worse that spuds that keep coming up in the same space, As i am running my soil through the sieve this year to finally get all the rocks out of it I should get rid of the rouge spuds too, then I can no dig the plots, but need to do this as roots are struggling
Use old Horse manure , back in the 70s I seen one the size of a turkey platter my cribbage friend fed his horse a potato but a piece fell to the ground without old burt knowing he says? he went to get a board one day and this giant plant was in his corale / barn yard found a massive potato 18 " long 6 high .
Do you think the container might be too warm compared to being in the ground? Ever try just digging a big hole in the ground and fill it with growing mix and much the top heavy? I have not been impressed so far by potato container results in yields.
Have been watching various posts about growing potatoes. I think the man who got 25 lbs of potatoes from a 50 liter container was using the most fertile soil. I suspect having the vermiculite and perlite would have worked much better if the rest of the soil was much more fertile Perhaps you could tweak your idea about looser soil and get that giant potato that you want. Might adding some manure be an option?
Than for another excellent interesting video. Wondering what you will do with that spent compost . Will you spread it on the garden as a soil improve or would you enrich it with fresh organic material and reuse?
2 year's ago i bought 10 of these tubs and did what you said with the blood fish and bone and potato fertiliser and only got about 3lb of spuds, so haven't bothered again.😭
Just wondering if it’s the size of the pot? Less room less potatoes? In the animal kingdom, animals don’t breed due to lack of food or surroundings. Maybe spuds won’t multiply with lack of room? Just a thought. 🌸💕
No because if you watch the results video which is on my channel its about a month ago and on all the potato playlists the spuds did superb in 30 litres, had awesome potatoes, I am going to be pulling 4 more on monday of the large potatoes see what happens then
Thanks, Steven. Yes some of them are great spuds if your growing to eat and a bucket full of those would really make your day. Still a little frustrating however I still have a few more buckets to go for the big one. If not always next year
Brilliant vid. Maybe next time, do them in potato bags, then whenwhen they get to “new potato” sized, have a rummage and remove all bar one of the forming tubers (as some do to harvest news, a little at a time). Might get a small growth check, but compared to splitting their energy between 6 or 10 tubers, it should still pay dividends. Also means you can start from a whole chitted spud to get it away better (plus a handy meal of new potatoes!)
I did this last year I bare rooted the plants and still had multiple spuds, I think next year I will have to bare root 3 or 4 times to ensure all the feed going to 1 spud
Hello Tony, good experimenting and has encouraged me to remove any extra spuds as they grow in my attempt at a world record. Is 1.8 👍 good enough .....lol. ♻️Happy Gardening........Terry King.
I didnt try sweet potatoes this year as i didn’t think it would be warm enough! Still... consider yourself lucky, my potatoes are extremely poor this year due to lack of water. Thanks for the video. Tom
UK Here We Grow ok well good luck, this is my first full year and ive learnt my lesson, more than doubling my water storage off the hard areas around my property... and daisy chaining barrels together.
I have a video on that which may interest you as I am storing 8,000 litres at the garden, might help in what your doing ua-cam.com/video/b-mdBUnjMLk/v-deo.html
In the late 80's as a kid I grew what I only recently realized was a world record potato of 14 lbs. It was the largest of several that were also probably record breaking. My father even took it to work to show co-workers that enormous knobby potato. I lived in the Willamette Valley which is known for some of the richest loamy soils in the world. I'm learning the garden had a mixture of Wallikenzie and Woodburn type soil with low pH, which is perfect for potatoes. Every day after school I'd water the potato patch and throw horse manure on it. I've just moved back to Oregon and would like to give it a go again on my parent's place next season.
@@simplifygardening My parent's place no longer has manure producing animals save a couple of goats, but there remains a compost pile of hay, wood chips, and horse manure that's been breaking down for 4 years according to my mother. Its literally black soil now. Should work well. It might be a bit late in the season for a potato crop but I'll give it a go next weekend with a half and half mixture of compost and topsoil in a raised bed of some sort. I'll look for the largest varietal of seed potato available. I'll keep you informed 👍
I wonder if the abrasiveness of the perlite affects the potato size. or if some other factor was at play like adjustments to soil PH or available nutrients vs bound nutrients, etc.
I dont know. I have a couple more buckets still growing of the giants and one or two still has perlite. So before writing it off completely i will check the results of those
I'm so jealous... i have had no success growing potatoes bigger than ping pong ball size. (i live in south Texas. We have little to nearly NO winter and it gets hot quickly). i won't give up, though.
Those are great looking potatoes. I have to ask, what is that vine in the background with the red flowers? I've never seen such a plant (watching from USA).
Dont forget to comment give the video a thumbs up and subscribe if your not already a subscriber guys. Id love to hit 250 thumbs up on this one
UK,Thank you can you do a video on the pruning process? As I understand as the plants growing you pull all the small tubas of and leave just 1-2?,,,TY73s
Nice
UK Here We Grp
UK, in the bucket that produced small tubers, did you consider that it may have been due to the size of the cutting that you planted? It may not have been the fault of the perlite at all. My aunt and uncle were potato farmers years sago (among other things), and when they first bought their farm and started out, they were rookies, but learned to buy certified seed potatoes and divide them before planting. They were later disappointed in the size and quantity and thought it was the fault of the seed. My aunt's husband (a rather crusty and arrogant old coot) contacted the seller and raised heck making assorted accusations. The seller calmly asked him how many cuttings he made from each seed potato. When my uncle told him, the seller rattled my uncle's ego, telling him you never cut them apart with less than three eyes in each segment and enough bulk to give the sprouts enough energy to start to reproduce. They wanted to stretch the seed they bought because they didn't have many resources left after purchasing the farm. Just a thought..
@@tacksscherbo7771 Same here, as a kid when we helped my grandfather he wanted at least 3 eyes and a decent "chunk" to get them started.
I’m in my 80 Th year and am growing potatoes in ground and in various reusable plastic bags. Thanks Tony
That is awesome Colin, I hope I am still gardening at 80. Good on you sir :)
I absolute love harvesting potatoes, you just never know what to expect
What do you do with the soil for after you’ve grown potatoes in it? Does it need to be enriched? Do you use it for another crop instead of spuds to avoid disease? Or is it back in with a new seed-tattie? Or simply discarded?
Nice upload; thank you! As a kid I grew up in dry arid desert in eastern WA state, USA...and the spuds grown there were huge! Good luck; as you say, it's the journey! Great philosophy! Blessings.🙏💌👍👍🎶😊🍃Greetings, grandma WA state,USA
Thanks Meldoy. I dont suppose you remember the variety you grew?
@@simplifygardening tony my guess would be idaho.
Been watching your videos for quite a while, was unable to comment from wifes computer. Started growing in containers like you and it's working very nice, watched lots of your videos, great job! I am in the pacific NW with similar climate. grew spuds in ground last year and found a few leftovers in the garden this spring and they were in great edible shape, actually Very Good (perfect) for being in our sodden ground all winter. Thanks for all the videos and information, really appreciate it, L & S!!
That is awesome! welcome to tha channel. its great to have you hear :)
The heats been incredible here, 114F, with high humidity. I don't even have to cook my veg, I just go out to the garden with my salt/pepper and eat it off the vine...😉
Yeah its been a very hot year for once. I guess the press are right for the first time in their lives lol
That's hilarious
@@simplifygardening Yes, but its been chilly and wet in other parts of the planet. If were in a sail boat we'd be in a bit of trouble.
Huge potatoes!! Nice
Thanks for This inspiration vídeo. You and some others garden youtubers are a inspiration to me . From Portugal a hug.
Thank you Tony for a very experimental and a competitive video.
From what I understand the first bucket had large potatoes the second bucket you were disappointed because of the vermiculite the third bucket you were also disappointed but you didn't tell us why what's in the third bucket.
And it's also nice to know what's in the first bucket so we can compare all three and see what's a better soil hope to hear from you soon thanks.
Hi Yaya, Just compost in both the third and first buckets, The idea behind this video was to get a single tuber as large as possible for a world record attempt. Sorry If I didn't make myself clear. Sometimes you lose your train of thought in front of a camera. You can practise a million times but as soon as you click to record the wrong stuff keeps coming ut lol
Simply, . . . amazing!
Cheers Kirk
Can I plant potato in tropical climate and how long potato stay in the ground before harvest?
Tony I would be so excited if I got one potato- as you know I am currently growing my first time potatoes in a hessian bag & am really pleased to say I am having success so far- well I am getting shoots or plants growing out of the soil which I keep covering up with my home made compost & the bag is just about full so fingers crossed for me- now I just wait. Cheers Denise - Australia
Thats great denise, Just make sure they dont dry out as hessian loses water fast. Keep me informed how you do on them.
Dear Simplify, You shouldn't be disappointed by that awesome yield!! I live in the s/w desert, USA, where 9months of the year it's around 110 degrees, there's 5-8 inches of rainfall a year, and the soil is almost pure CLAY. (Makes terrific homemade BRICKS though!) I would be ecstatic if I could sprout/grow ONE potatoe!
Oh damn sorry to hear that
In the 70s my parents had a moorland farm here on dartmoor, they used to grow potatoes in the peaty moorland soil they done really well.
I bet the spuds loved that medium to grow in
Great video. I look forward to seeing the results on your future potato trials and hope you get the record-setting one. Mobile, Alabama USA.
Thanks Victoria. We can but keep trying methods and see what it throws
We're in Maine USA and haven't had any rain at all for over a month. It's nice though, no funk on anything! We are watering and potatoes have no bugs! Hope to have a lot but not sure where I will store them.
Hopefully they will do well for you. Sorry for the late reply
I cut trenches in clay soil, back filled with compost and manure, variety was Sarpo Mira and they were the size of bricks
Yes thats a great spud for size and traditional way will always be a good way to grow spuds
geez man just be thankfull you even got a potato
Lol Tom. This is for a WR attempt as is tonights video been trying years and still trying, but its the journey not the destination :)
You already have that other guy beat, with his gnarly potato. Keep on keeping on.
He’s after world record. He said he’s still glad to have potatoes to eat. But it’s not what he wanted. Nothing wrong with that.
Hi Tony, nice reveal. They are a decent size even though you were attempting the Big one.. Like you say, they make a nice meal so nothing lost. Thanks for sharing.
That's right Rod. The biggest of the year will go to next years seed and the rest will end up on the table in one form or another. Happy gardening mate
Hi, I’m just getting started potato growing and really appreciate you. All great information delivered timely. I’m following:)
Hey Melody I have plenty of playlists full of potato videos, its one of my favourite things to grow
Thank you so much I'm learning with you! We learn when we fail as painful as it is for me and others we can go forward! Thank you Thank you Thank you💕💯❤️😁
You are so welcome!
It looks like the purlite and vermiculite encouraged more roots at the expense of the potatoes, it also would have retained less moisture. I have had good results growing salad veg and carrots in blue plastic chemical drums cut in half. Less watering and I can take a seat to cut the leaves. Wood chips in the bottom, rotted compost in the middle and purchased potting compost on top. Filled six inches below the rim, the seedlings get a good wind break. The mice and rabbits don’t get a look in.
Yes I have some of those barrels in the tunnel, Havent used them this year but we can but try lots of different things to push the envelope
Very interesting thank you.. so glad to know about the perilite not helping!
Happy to help!
I just planted some potatoes for the first time yesterday, getting really into my gardening lately hopefully it will go well :)
Tiffany, Thats great to hear. let me know how your potatoes go :)
Super hands on, dirt under the nails, voice of experience video Tony! I have been experimenting also. To date: a raised cone bed, wrapped with black plastic on the incline. 10 lbs one plant. I couldn't provide under plastic drip-irrigation. 😞Plastic in sandy soil can be your plant's best friend, or worst enemy. I don't use black plastic pots because: not enough oxygen, moisture expires too quickly, and when pots are in direct sun-light, temps reach as high as 120 degrees! Not uncommon in NW Wis. Pot's micro-organisms and roots get cooked. Gardeners learn something new, every year! 40 and counting 🙂
Yeah you have to garden to your location and environment, it works well here as by the time the sun gets hot the foliage shades the containers.
Sorry you didn't get the result you wanted mate,at least you got some nice eaters out of them.There's always something to learn by experimenting.In any case you don't know what the others will turn out like yet :)
Your right there Tracy who knows whats under that soil. However, The trial is what makes it exciting for me :)
Remgoing to my grans they were on acid soil wow were the spus ever soo good,no scab etc very clean and very tasty spuds mostly kerrs pinks.
She must have kept them watered well. Great I love it when they come out clean
@@simplifygardening funny that ,she didnt water them at all the soil has a bluish tint it was once covered by peat bog hence acidic and it held water quiet well.but god did the spuds teste really good.
Thank you for sharing and blessings Tony
Thanks Linda, appreciate the support :)
Hi Tony,How many seed potatoes would you use in a 30L container,planting charlotte and Maris Peer in late July.Any advice would be appreciated.
Wow wee, Worzel Gummage(hope i spelt that right)!
Grew up watching him in n.z,no doubt lol.
my first time to plant potatoes and I did it in a five gallon bucket. I will be harvesting in july. I am following the tips I see here in the different gardens I watch.
Wonderful! how did they do Sorry for the late reply
It’s amazing… if I had a garden I will practically live in morning noon and nigh. I have a very small balcony space and I have grown tomatoes n they got lots of fruits n. Flowers, passionfruit creeper. Green pepper n curry leaves, green grass.I’ll soon grow potatoes as well.
Any space is valuable
Thanks for sharing, great tips 👍
Thanks for watching!
Nice harvest. Nature is such a miracle. It's easy for people like me to forget that potatoes don't originate at the supermarket. They come from the Earth and with thanks to farmers.
Yes are fantastic to grow
hi Tony, i dont understand this "perlite AND vermiculite" concept at all. Both can loosen up the soil but vermiculite acts like a sponge, it helps to retain moisture, you use it if you live in a relatively dry area and want to save on water(ing). Perlite on the other hand doesnt retain any moisture at all, so you use it to help drainage, if you live in an area with a lot of rain for example. So did you want to retain moisture (vermiculite) or get rid of it (perlite)? It should be an either / or not both. I live in Ireland, it's generally wet here, so i added a lot of perlite to the grapevines but i used vermiculite as a cover when i sowed carrots to make sure they dont dry out not even for a second before they have a chance to germinate. The other thing im thinking of is that if you found the potatoes pushing out, maybe you could use a larger container next time. Seems like the ones you have are good for average size potatoes, but if you want to grow giant ones, you may need something much larger than those to make sure they have enough space to grow huuuuuge comfortably. Anyway, not a bad harvest at all, especially not under such circumstances like the drought you have. I wanted to give them a try too this year, but couldnt get kondor seed potatoes anywhere so planted sarpo mira. :-) So dont be disappointed, you've been still much luckier than i was. :-)
The perlite can help to retain moisture but it wasnt there for that. it was there to help give structure to the soil to help with compactation and the vermiculite was to hold moisture. The idea behind it was to try and help create a lighter soil mix that would be easier for the tubers to grow in. This didnt work as we saw
Interesting to see what effect the perlite had. Interesting video all round this, thank you!
Yeah that really surprised me, I do have other buckets with it in so I will see if these results will follow
@@simplifygardening
I am wondering if one really needs to use perlite/vermiculite to grow plants at all.
Or is it just a trend?
Great video. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
I saw this video! I know you had a goal! But so many don’t have food! You have an abundance of great sized potatoes! You have done well! Amazing well!
Yes! Thank you!
Live and learn Tony. Surprised that Perlite would slow the growth as it holds moisture and boy has it been dry to the last 2 months!!!!
Growing loads of spuds to show - the reveals are on my UA-cam Channel.
Two unusual ones that I am hopeful for are the metre high potato tower (my tower is 1m+ and the haulms are taller than me LOL) and the other is a copy of your single eye on a sliver of skin that you did a year? ago ---- it is massive! A pity we cannot add photo comments.
Steve
Once you get 10k subscribers Steve you unlock the community tab and you can post anything there like FB
Bloody hell!! Better than my two spuds per seed potato!! LOL!!
They are great spuds I know I sound disappointed in the video as its not the results wanted lol
Do you ever respond to questions like instead of having your holes in the bottom of your container. Have them about a inch up so the roots of the plant will always have water to drink that should help the plant to grow
Brian, Funny you should ask that. I am in the process of making a video with that sort of idea so stay tuned
This same thing happened to the giant veg growers in Yorkshire. All their 'Single' spuds put out lots of tubers and they had lots of joined together ones.
Yeah the joined ones havent actually joined but the potato was a mutant shape, they are the ones that have the potential to get huge. I have 4 more containers for this years chance and will be opening them shortly. Who knows whats under the soil
It will be my first time planting potatoes in a barrel. I would like to know which fertilizer you used to grow giant potatoes. Thanks
Blood fish and bone meal
Do you still stand by perlite not being used in the growing medium?
Aw, don't be disappointed, I learned a lot! Thank you!
I'm glad! Sorry for the late reply
the old saying goes "at first you don't succeed try, try, try again" so there is always next year !!
Yes always next year and another 6 pots this year see what happens
You have a great yield and a crop to be happy about. Speak only good words and project love peace and increase. See what happens next season. Beautiful bakers.
Thanks Kathy. Yes always this season to go yet :)
Try growing potatoes in sandy soil! Its the best for potatoes 🥔!
Yes will try it next year. Thanks for the tip
With rocks and keep throwing the biggest ones you grow back in the ground.
regular black garden soil with some sand, since it is a root producing plant add bone and blood meal 1/2 cup of each in that size bucket and as I said leave only the largest stem
Yes Mona. exactly how I was doing it, but been testing some ideas of late :)
@@simplifygardening
How do you leave “only the largest stem”?
Do you cut off the other ones?
What lovely big potatoes you grew at 3.55 👍😃🥔🥔🥔🥔
Thanks Alice.
last year my potatoes were woeful. can you overfertilize? i used large 60 litere buckets, compost and i added a handfull each of potato feed and blood fish and bone. the haulms were huge.. 6ft tall but no potatoes
Yes, you overfed, 3 ounces of feed at most. Reduce the pot size to 30 litres and make sure there is no nitrogen. the compost you used must have been packed with it to get haulms so large. the pot size will reduce yield so ensure you get a pot around 30 litres or 8 to 10 US gallons
Thanks for the recommendation for the Containers from Oakland Gardens shame you didn't get anything from them for all the recommendations you must of sent them loads of customers
Oaklands do help support the channel buy supplying me stuff i require
i,d say not enough sand and way to much compost, not at all like the potatoe patches i worked in, but i could be wrong, as i have not been cutting seed for over 20 years now and they produce some giants.. thank you for the video.. have a blessed and safe day
Hey Russ Will be lifting the last 4 buckets over the next week or so, keep your eyes peeled for that to see how they did
When is the right time to plant potato and how do you know when to harvest..pls reply..thank you..I love to plant and eat potatoes specially the red potatoes..
Hi Tony, Whilst I know it was not what you wanted as you said a nice harvest all the same, Thank you for sharing,Take care.
Thank you, Ronald. Yes a great little harvest Be great if my main crop potatoes are that big lol
What do you grown the potatoes in please? Is it just compost? Thank you!
Yes. Charles its home made compost
Your soil is so dark and healthy. I'm amazed.
It comes from making quality compost. Something I am about to release a book on in the next few months
I keep getting your videos in my recommendations. I hope you read this comment.
Your videos are great. I'm wanting to move to Europe from the UK and I have an allotment and I want to grow potatoes. Your videos are very informative. I just need to convince my girlfriend as it will require a lot of space. Have a nice day.
Wow thank you.your potatoes look so fresh and clean,
Its a great way to grow them, Did you see the experiment video I did about a week ago? if not check it out might just confirm some stuff to you
A good lesson for us all with the Perlite and Vermiculite 👍🏻. You need a X-Ray machine to keep an eye on them.😄😄😄. Will you keep the big potatoes for next year seed?
Yeah Nigel I will keep all the biggest for seed. I have 5 other buckets as well as 2 120 litre ones, see what follows those . but the perlite and vermiculite really surprised me
have you tried to put a whole seed potatoe in, instead of cutting?it seems that the sandyer the soil the better they like it
@@russsherwood5978 not true. They love heavy clay!
Where can you buy these black buckets are they 10 inch?
How would you control the number and of potatoes grown on the plant? Unless a specific variety grows that way, how can you control it otherwise?
Marie you remove tubers and leave one. Constantly pulling tubers off as they form. This is to try for a world record you wouldnt do this for large potatoes.Check out tonights video on growing potatoes ua-cam.com/video/dtfWSv8IsD8/v-deo.html This might be of interest to you
Excellent info 👌👌
I know your growing for record size but I would be happy with them. I haven't had any luck growing potatoes in buckets
Barbara, where do you live? What medium was you using to grow? how often did you water them?
Still some very large potatoes. Very long French fries there. Great video Tony . Good luck for 2019. 😎
Thanks Anna, Yes they will make decent fries for sure
Good spuds in the first bucket. Good result. I noticed the first bucket was a bigger size? I’m growing Nicola in 30 litre buckets done alright, considering the weather. I’ve just emptied 2 out of 6 so far I’m going to leave the rest for a while as hope they will be ok. I bet the cost of potatoes in the shops will go up this year, so glad to have some on hand. I had quite a few come up in the bed that were left behind from last year...nuisance but the onions coped with the invaders, although I bet they would have done better without. Those potatoes (same variety)are bigger and grew in the surface compost as I’m doing no dig in that bed. At least with buckets you don’t have the problem of them being left behind. The perlite experiment was useful, thanks, great video Tony.
Yes I have grown a lot of mine in the ground this year as a challenge by someone I do not hold out for great hopes to be honest. Perlite really surprised me. Nothing worse that spuds that keep coming up in the same space, As i am running my soil through the sieve this year to finally get all the rocks out of it I should get rid of the rouge spuds too, then I can no dig the plots, but need to do this as roots are struggling
If there is really hot sun for a few weeks is it okay to water your potato plants with a wateting can or garden hose ?
We have had SantaAna winds lately and my potato leaves were stripped. Do I leave them or they are pretty much dead.
Leave them they may throw more halums
Use old Horse manure , back in the 70s I seen one the size of a turkey platter my cribbage friend fed his horse a potato but a piece fell to the ground without old burt knowing he says? he went to get a board one day and this giant plant was in his corale / barn yard found a massive potato 18 " long 6 high .
Great video again Tony :) can't wait for all the other potato reveals :)
Thanks Kath loads to follow :)
Great garden, full and healthy looking plants.
Thanks Lynda appreciate your views and your support by commenting, sorry about the late reply. Tony
Do you think the container might be too warm compared to being in the ground?
Ever try just digging a big hole in the ground and fill it with growing mix and much the top heavy?
I have not been impressed so far by potato container results in yields.
the container is warmed quicker in spring which is better and shaded in summer so its fine
Have been watching various posts about growing potatoes. I think the man who got 25 lbs of potatoes from a 50 liter container was using the most fertile soil. I suspect having the vermiculite and perlite would have worked much better if the rest of the soil was much more fertile Perhaps you could tweak your idea about looser soil and get that giant potato that you want. Might adding some manure be an option?
Kathleen I am trialling some other ways this year, also have an experiment running about the medium used in containers to see which is better
Than for another excellent interesting video. Wondering what you will do with that spent compost . Will you spread it on the garden as a soil improve or would you enrich it with fresh organic material and reuse?
Yes I will Sorry for the late reply
you might not have produced the biggest potato YET but i would still pop round for a jacket with cheese and beans lol
mmmm jacket with beans and cheese, Might have that tonight lol
2 year's ago i bought 10 of these tubs and did what you said with the blood fish and bone and potato fertiliser and only got about 3lb of spuds, so haven't bothered again.😭
Just wondering if it’s the size of the pot? Less room less potatoes? In the animal kingdom, animals don’t breed due to lack of food or surroundings. Maybe spuds won’t multiply with lack of room? Just a thought. 🌸💕
No because if you watch the results video which is on my channel its about a month ago and on all the potato playlists the spuds did superb in 30 litres, had awesome potatoes, I am going to be pulling 4 more on monday of the large potatoes see what happens then
i no you wanted a big spud but what you have got looks great well done
Thanks, Steven. Yes some of them are great spuds if your growing to eat and a bucket full of those would really make your day. Still a little frustrating however I still have a few more buckets to go for the big one. If not always next year
How often we should water the potatoes..live in Florida USA n it’s getting hot
Nora check out this video takes you through all the options ua-cam.com/video/NWuBGJyO04A/v-deo.html
Well I guess that’s what you get for growing your potatoes in Ireland lol. I can’t even think of getting them that big here in Texas
I’m not in Ireland I’m in Wales 😀
where do I find seed potatoes that you used in the show. I can't see them any were..
Where do you live Rendell
Brilliant vid. Maybe next time, do them in potato bags, then whenwhen they get to “new potato” sized, have a rummage and remove all bar one of the forming tubers (as some do to harvest news, a little at a time). Might get a small growth check, but compared to splitting their energy between 6 or 10 tubers, it should still pay dividends. Also means you can start from a whole chitted spud to get it away better (plus a handy meal of new potatoes!)
I did this last year I bare rooted the plants and still had multiple spuds, I think next year I will have to bare root 3 or 4 times to ensure all the feed going to 1 spud
Thank you for your nice video it's very useful
You are most welcome
Hello Tony, good experimenting and has encouraged me to remove any extra spuds as they grow in my attempt at a world record. Is 1.8 👍 good enough .....lol.
♻️Happy Gardening........Terry King.
lol mate needs to be a little bigger
I didnt try sweet potatoes this year as i didn’t think it would be warm enough! Still... consider yourself lucky, my potatoes are extremely poor this year due to lack of water. Thanks for the video. Tom
Tom I dunno what the rest will be like they are all going over slowly
UK Here We Grow ok well good luck, this is my first full year and ive learnt my lesson, more than doubling my water storage off the hard areas around my property... and daisy chaining barrels together.
I have a video on that which may interest you as I am storing 8,000 litres at the garden, might help in what your doing ua-cam.com/video/b-mdBUnjMLk/v-deo.html
UK Here We Grow i somehow missed ur reply... ill watch later... cheers
brick sized potatoes - very cool
Thanks Dont miss todays video on potatoes, its packed with tons of tips ua-cam.com/video/hgJa2wrX6lA/v-deo.html
i really likes to plant any kinds of vegetables
In the late 80's as a kid I grew what I only recently realized was a world record potato of 14 lbs. It was the largest of several that were also probably record breaking. My father even took it to work to show co-workers that enormous knobby potato. I lived in the Willamette Valley which is known for some of the richest loamy soils in the world. I'm learning the garden had a mixture of Wallikenzie and Woodburn type soil with low pH, which is perfect for potatoes. Every day after school I'd water the potato patch and throw horse manure on it. I've just moved back to Oregon and would like to give it a go again on my parent's place next season.
Thats great and I would be interested in seeing what you do for your attempts
@@simplifygardening My parent's place no longer has manure producing animals save a couple of goats, but there remains a compost pile of hay, wood chips, and horse manure that's been breaking down for 4 years according to my mother. Its literally black soil now. Should work well. It might be a bit late in the season for a potato crop but I'll give it a go next weekend with a half and half mixture of compost and topsoil in a raised bed of some sort. I'll look for the largest varietal of seed potato available. I'll keep you informed 👍
Was the soil just pure compost in the buckets? Bar the fertiziler obviously
Yes Karen Sorry for the late reply
Wow ,amazing potatoes
Thanks. I will be emptying the last 4 giant potato buckets very shortly
@@simplifygardening ,nice sir
Thanks Lyn :)
I wonder if the abrasiveness of the perlite affects the potato size. or if some other factor was at play like adjustments to soil PH or available nutrients vs bound nutrients, etc.
I dont know. I have a couple more buckets still growing of the giants and one or two still has perlite. So before writing it off completely i will check the results of those
tony just growing them to eat and share!
My daughter grew some potatoes in 1990 that were really big. There were several in a hill and they weighed about one and a half to two pounds each.
Great video! Thank you!
What size buckets did you use, Tony?
I'm so jealous... i have had no success growing potatoes bigger than ping pong ball size. (i live in south Texas. We have little to nearly NO winter and it gets hot quickly). i won't give up, though.
Leslie. half bury the containers in the ground or mulch around them half their depth with woodchip. it will hel you to keep them cool
What do you feed those potato plants with? Thank you
Nice work🖒
Thanks for information 🖒
Plz tell me the name of this variety of potatos
Sarpo Mira
What do you do about worms? Do you buy them?
No worms arnt required for this process but my garden is thriving with them due to the soil work i do such as adding compost
Those are great looking potatoes. I have to ask, what is that vine in the background with the red flowers? I've never seen such a plant (watching from USA).
The vine with red flowers are runner beans