First Early Potato Harvest | Potatoes in Containers | Potatoes| Mark's Allotment Plot

First Early Potato Harvest | Potatoes in Containers | Potatoes| Mark's Allotment Plot
It's time to look in the first two containers to see how the first early potatoes are getting on.
The varieties this year are Swift and Pentland Javelin. There was kind of an experiment done here with the growing medium but its no where near a fair experiment so take the results with a pinch of salt.
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[@marksallotmentplot]

If you enjoyed this video be sure to check out the below: kzbin.info/door/j50h1_3Qk63BU1rXNjloCQ

[@deborahtheodore5407]

I don’t know why content creators think watching a potato harvest is boring. Some enjoy the hunt as much as you do. Show me more.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Deborah. Looks like this years potatoes in the buckets are almost ready to harvest. Hopefully another one of these vids coming in the next week or two 👍👍👍

[@Number4lead]

That looks like a great harvest, especially the second bucket. Well done.

[@clairegarnham2742]

Great video thanks. My knees are hurting just looking at how you are kneeling!!! X

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Claire. Must admit there was a little bit of creaking in the old knees when I stood up 🤣

[@FluffyBlanketLover]

I do love me some potatoes!

[@leonorereynolds1520]

Beautiful potatoes

[@bvc90]

I've found rotating my compost with potatoes then peas or runner beans and obv add to it every year

[@val6112]

I'd like to see ALL buckets harvested please 👍

[@donnalynn286]

That's a lot of potatoes from that size bucket they did great

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Donna, I was pretty pleased with them.👍 Think I'll be doing most of them in buckets again this year

[@allythescot]

Crop looks OK to me,Ally

[@DennisF55]

Good yob 😊

[@markbraxton1289]

Anyway of knowing how many seed potatoes used in this trial...kinda important 🤔😉😋

[@nickthegardener.1120]

The cat was after the fly!🤣😁👍

[@marksallotmentplot]

Fred the cat does love a nice crunchy fly 😁🐱

[@RealFoodComesDirty]

Nice harvest, Mark!

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Audrey. I've been impressed with the swift so far. Will deffo be giving them another try next year. Charlottes due to be harvested in the next couple of weeks, will be interesting to see how the compare. 👍

[@billvalsallotments5915]

Hi mark some nice spuds there mate swift slightly better but both be very welcome I'm sure , stay safe Bill and val

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks 👍 I was pretty impressed with the return from the swift this time round. Will deffo be adding those ones to try again next year

[@christinebrooks6364]

Hi Mark, all your potatoes are looking good, always plenty of detailed content in your videos. Thanks for sharing and take care 🙂

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Christine. I was really impressed with the swifts this year. Deffo one to add to the list to try again next year 👍

[@matthewbrooks1589]

That 2nd lot of spuds looked great! I expanded my potato growing this year. I'm growing Red Duke of York, Pink Fir Apple, Apache and Heidi Red this year. The heidi red are a purple red flesh and have been excellent boilers, super impressed. Red Duke of York make super creamy mash and fab roasties. Apache is all rounder. Pink fir apple is usually my favourite but lots of competition this year.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Matthew. I've been very impressed with the swift so far this year. Pretty sure I've got some Pink Fir Apple in the main crop potato bed as well. Hopefully they'll be ready to lift in the next few weeks. I've not done the Red Duke of York before but if they make good mash and raosties I'll deffo give them a shot.

[@stephenbrammall2565]

Got some really nice potatoes there Mark...

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Stephen. I was impressed with the swift this time round. Will deffo be adding them to the list to try again next year. 👍

[@hoosierpioneer]

Can't believe you're wearing a sweater, here in US we he have a long heat wave, been in the 90s F at my house for over 2 weeks. Humid too. Only been gardening in short bursts!

[@marksallotmentplot]

Think the light must have been deceiving as it was about 7am when I filmed this one and was still pretty cool. Been pretty hot during the days since then and very hot recently. Bring on the rain!!!!

[@laurenmariebishop8409]

It's ok I love cats.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Fred the cat is the real star of the show 😁🐈

[@markbarnett9380]

They look amazing mark

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Mark. First time trying the swits and well impressed with them. Think they'll go on the list again for next year.

[@DigwellGreenfingers]

Nice one Mark. To further compound the issue with feed for the potatoes: If there was one perfect NPK etc mix then every company would sell it! Instead, they all have their own mix. I lean towards a higher nitrate when planting and switch to a higher P&K mid-way during their growth.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Steve. Think I'll do a little more tinkering with the feed mix for the potatoes next year together with more in buckets. Easier to see the difference between them in the buckets and control how much of each feed they're getting 👍

[@pamstout]

Lovely harvest.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Pam. I was really impressed with the swifts this year. Will deffo be giving them another try next year 👍

[@Eon0007]

Informative as always Mark. I have a couple of buckets(also in the ground) of the following Arran Pilot, Ulster Prince, Pentland, Javalin, Charlotte, Desiree and Maris Piper. Like you not watered much so will be interesting to see what is what when I harvest 😊.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Ian. I was impressed with the swift this year. I've got a couple of buckets of charlottes as well to empty in the coming weeks. Think I've managed to kill them off and bring them back to life at least 3 or 4 times so far this year so wonder how they'll turn out 😄

[@nickthegardener.1120]

Hi mark I'm definitely going to grow some early potatoes, I just harvested some maincrop and your swift look bigger, although my main crop was an early harvest. Good job!👍

[@marksallotmentplot]

First time trying the swift for me this year and they turned out great. Will deffo be doing those ones again next year. The main crops here are just starting to show signs of dying back. I reckon in about another month it'll be about time to lift them👍

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

I thought both lots of potatoes looked good but yes your right the second pot was slightly better, Take care.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Ronald. The Swfits were deffo a lot better. Think I'll be adding them to the list to do again next year 👍

[@TheGrowUpChannel]

I've had good and bad with swift in the past. I've found they aren't as swift as they claim. I found leaving them later to harvest is better. Good harvest though! Danny

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Danny. The swift were decent this year and have a couple of buckets of charlotte due in the next few weeks. Will be interesting to see how the compare. Saying that I've managed to kill off and bring the charlottes back to life at least 3 times so far this year 😁

[@SuperVizzie]

Swifts look good. Think I will try them if I can get the seed potatoes in N Ireland.

[@marksallotmentplot]

First time trying them and they've turned out great. I'll deffo be giving them another shot next year 👍

[@norton750cc]

Forget the containers, get some rubble sacks from scufix or others, slit some drainage wth a knife, put the best compost that you have 3 inches deep in the bottom, lay 2 or 3 seed potatoes on top and it is good to go, add mulch on top, a little at a time, grass clippings are fine, but preferrably dry ones. Water sparingly, but often, yield should be 2 pounds per seed potato.

[@thewitch69]

i seem to be getting bigger tatter plants from rouge ones that were left in the ground rather than the ones i lovingly planted and cared for lol

[@marksallotmentplot]

Isn't that always they way Bev! I've had some great result from the spuds I've grown in my compost bin 😄

[@thewitch69]

@@marksallotmentplot yay im not a joint plot holder to a community lottie its in a bit of a state tho be a long time till we re growing any food lol

[@bristolveggiebeds5310]

I've had lots of ants in my potato pots too, but one particularly bad pot the ants had misshapen the growth of the potatoes! So ants do affect the growth!

[@marksallotmentplot]

They were a wee surprise I wasn't expecting that's for sure! Luckily no real damage done this time round and they were rehomed into the council compost bin 👍

[@robsallotmentchannel9942]

Hi mark Two great harvests there mate, did I miss it or did you not mention how many potatoes you planted in each pot. Take care.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Thanks Rob. There was 4 in each bucket (I think 😁 ) I was impressed with the swifts and will deffo be giving them another try next year 👍

[@TheAshjo]

Hi Mark, how long we can leave the potatoes in the soil before it starts regrowing as i have some beans in the same pot. Thanks.

[@marksallotmentplot]

Hi, depends on the variety of potato. If it’s a first or second early I’d not leave them more than a couple of weeks or they’ll lose that nice fresh new potato flavour. You could leave them a bit longer but they won’t be as good. If they’re a main crop variety they’ll keep in the ground a little longer as they have a tougher, thicker skin. Perhaps about a month. I’d deffo make sure any potatoes are stored somewhere safe before there’s any chance of a frost. A hessian sack kept in a cool dark place is the best 👍

[@TheAshjo]

@@marksallotmentplot thanks a lot Mark.

[@phirst55]

Farmers don't water their fields they grow the spuds in,, I know pots dry out quicker than a field but if the pots are on soil (or partially buried as with Greenside Up) they should draw water from the soil wouldn't they?

[@marksallotmentplot]

I had the pots on top of woodchips which were in turn on top of black plastic. I like the idea of having the pots on the soil though. Got half a plan brewing for next year to have them on part of the main crop bed and use the space the pots were in this year for something else. Hopefully that way they'll root out the bottom and draw water up if needed 👍

[@paulwoodcock764]

how many seed spuds to a 30 litre bucket do you put in please ?

[@marksallotmentplot]

I usually put 3 in each bucket but you might get away with 4 at a push.👍

[@paulwoodcock764]

@@marksallotmentplot cheers mark, hows about soil rather than compost ?

[@marksallotmentplot]

Yes absolutely. It’ll need some nutrition added to it. Something like fish, blood and bone will do the trial. I’ve just put a vid out showing how I’m doing mine this year A Shortage Of Potatoes This Year? | How To Grow Potatoes | Mark's Allotment Plot kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZKokqOvi6hsg68 Where I’m using compost here you can replace that with soil 👍

[@paulwoodcock764]

@@marksallotmentplot thanks mark, great vids .

[@briansgardenandpolytunnel8172]

black ants i don't mind. it's the red ants that bite like hell....................brian

[@marksallotmentplot]

They were like a little surprise I wasn't expecting 😄 Thankfully they hadn't done any damage to the spuds or me 👍

[@leonardpeters1147]

how many potato to each bucket

[@daverok1113]

Hiya Mark Ive a grow bag on the go, first timer I just used compost with organ chicken pellets and within a month the shoots are 'knee deep' I think you suggested nitrogen from chicken pellets could be responsible? I planted 4-6 store bought spuds, Maris Piper, Desiree, they get plenty of water and Im just hoping that I don't end up with 12 ft tall shoots and nothing edible from the grow bag Is it too early to empty the bag its only been about 6 weeks?

[@marksallotmentplot]

Hi, if the tops of the potato plants are getting too big then I reckon there is too much nitrogen in the compost/feed and could deffo be caused by too many chicken manure pellets. 6 weeks is too early to empty them out. With main crop spuds you're looking at 16+ weeks. They'll be ready to harvest when you see the plants starting to yellow and die off. If they get too tall the best thing to do is try to support them with some garden canes and twine.

[@daverok1113]

@@marksallotmentplot Thanks Mark Im on that now I find it so interesting and beautiful There maybe nowt come harvest but its been a step in the right direction, first attempts etc I will learn a lot from this year and take it forward How do you feel about the cattle cull to 'save the planet' and the farmer's protests in the Netherlands and beyond?

[@lorettacook8768]

They are called fire ants here and they will bite you 😃😃

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

Lol 😮 never work with Children or animals lol

[@marksallotmentplot]

There might be another guest appearance from Fred the cat in this Sunday's video but I can't possibly give that away 😺