The Spud In A Bucket Growing Competition 2018

Over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, the members of The Stamford Hill Community Garden began potting up their competition entries for this year.

Why not join in on the fun and see what you can do.

The aim is to produce quantity according to weight - to grow as much as possible from just one seed potato in a bucket.

Judgement Day (aka "The Great British Weigh-off") will take place around mid September, weather permitting.


We are reusing 14 liter plastic buckets purchased last year from Wickes but you may use any container that holds up to 14 liters of growing medium.

There are no restrictions on which cultivar of seed potato you can use so long as you plant only one tuber in your container. Myself, I've chosen an Osprey white-skinned potato.

There are also no restrictions on the growing medium - whether you choose to use compost, garden soil, sand, straw, shredded paper or other custom mixtures is all up to you.

Fertilizers, whether it be type, strength or dosage is all up to you.

However, doping by embedding foreign objects such as lead strips, coins or stones etc is definitely verboten.

This above all: to thine own self be Irn-Bru.

Errr, that is, be liquid in your thinking, and be an upstanding pillar of the community, ...like girders.


Seeing that you will not be my direct competitors: good luck and happy growing!

 

The Tri-carrot Challenge


Yes, a companion competition that tests the grower's ability to produce quality instead of quantity.

The rules are simple:

1. Produce three carrots of at least 7cm in length by growing them in a 14 liter bucket;
2. You may use any growing medium and any variety of carrot seeds;
3. The carrots will be judged on uniformity of length, girth and general appearance.
4. Judgement Day will take place on the same day as "The Great British Weigh-off" for the Spud In A Bucket competition.

Remember, crop uniformity ranks above all else in this one.

Since you're doing the Spud In A Bucket competition, why not join in on this one as well.

 

I'm up for both.

For spuds I'll be using Picasso (which is currently in a pot coming on before planting in a bucket). I selected one with the optimum number of sprouts for the heaviest crop.

For the carrots I'll be sowing Sweet Candle, about a week or so late, and I haven't even checked if I've got any seeds. To be grown in soil filled drills in a sand filled bucket kept in a polytunnel.

 

Count me in

I have some sweet candle I could spare Scrungee?

 

Welcome minions Scrungee and Linz, glad you're both joining in.

I forgot to mention that we're using Autumn King 2 seeds.

I haven't grown them before but from pictures on the net, I see that Sweet Candle can make for quite impressive show carrots.

 

No worries, will pick some up

And yes, have a look at allotment diary on youtube, he got a great video on what he does to prepare his stump (and long) carrots

 

I hope you all know that now @Scrungee as entered that's it ...it's a full out swing with the spuds and don't say i didn't worn you

 

I'll use those then - and easier/cheaper to get some seeds from Wilkos.

But, outside of this competition, I'm still tempted to try another bucket with some Sweet Candle seeds just to check whether it would be a better 'grow in a bucket' variety.

Might do the same with another variety of spuds in a bucket, one with potential that might not be available next year, so a bucket of spuds that could be seed spuds for 2019 would be useful.

 

Oh glod, this means i've gotta buy another seed potato and another bucket

 

And you''ve missed the Wickes 15% off event, so your buckets will cost an extra 15p each

 

@Scrungee you've got them on the trot mate already

 

Whilst perusing the garden in the glorious sunshine, a finger-in-mouth popping chorus of sounds emanated from the direction of my plot.

And, sure enough...



Deja vu, I kept thinking to myself.

In any case, that's 22 days since planting.

 

Similarly, rice krispies in milk.



Have your carrots snap, crackle and popped yet?

 

Noting that the stars in the Eastern sky were about to align, the members of The Stamford Estate Community Garden got together ready to face Judgement Day - the pinnacle of the horticultural season for bucket vegetable growers.

So, on the balmy Saturday afternoon just gone, The Great British Weigh-off began.

The majority of the competition entries:






This was my entry.

 

After much tipping out, furtling and hosing down, here are the weights ranked in order: