Potatoes in pots - Do leaves need removing before adding more soil?

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by Aldo, Jul 7, 2019.

  1. Aldo

    Aldo Super Gardener

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    This is a very beginner question.
    I planted some potatoes in pots, filling them to a 1/3 with soil and a bit of blood fish and bones, and soon enough they turned into nice little plants.
    I got distracted with work and other things and I missed to add more soil for a few weeks, so when I finally got to it they were already lush with foliage and sticking out of the pots.
    So I just filled the pots completely.

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    Would have been better to remove all leaves from the stems beforehand?

    Thanks,
    Aldo
     
  2. misterQ

    misterQ Super Gardener

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    No, no need to remove the leaves. You did the right thing.


    This is the current status of my own entry in our annual Spud in A Bucket growing competition, planted the lazy way (seed potato at the bottom and topped all the way up with compost).

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    • Aldo

      Aldo Super Gardener

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      Thanks, I am glad I got it right, digging the soil up to remove the leaves would have been a bit of a pain.

      I am going to check out the Spud in a Bucket section, sounds like fun :)
      So there is no need to start with a shallow layer of soil at the beginning? Will the potato stems will make it to the top even if the bucket is full already?
       
    • Scrungee

      Scrungee Well known for it

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      What normally happens if you forget the final top up is finding 50% of your potato crop exposed to the light and have turned green, making them inedible and need discarding.

      If you remember to top up with expensive MPC, that will guarantee all your crop will be in a tight clump at the very bottom of the pot, making you wonder why you bothered.
       
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      • john558

        john558 Total Gardener

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        I'm having problems with the skin coming off my new Potatoes (Pentland Javelin) I gently simmer them, they taste ok, but I have a pan full of skins. I don't have a steamer......Any advice please.
         
      • Aldo

        Aldo Super Gardener

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        Thanks for the information and sorry for the replying only now, I got caught up with work things and lost of sight forum and garden both..

        Unfortunately, I did use potting some potting compost, I wish I had know this earlier.
        I get my soil from the gardening centre around the corner and normally I get Clover potting soil. For the potatoes I used the cheapet one they had.
        The final top up was done with Wilko's soil, as they ran out of Clover..

        Well, at least the plants look healthy, I guess I can only wait and see how they turn up..

        Sorry for the clueless question but, what should I have instead of potting soil?
        Compost perhaps?
         
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