Erica, have you tried a long handles shovel? A Spade is made for cutting and lifting turf, and there is a reason all the road crews and landscapers use long handled shovels... they are much easier on the back...
I'm delighted, you went through the same process as me. Fertility of the soil is key, a bucket full of shop bought compost won't do. I'm lucky I can get manure and seaweed and a few old gardeners to give advice. Next thought, crop rotation? That works too.
I have always used the trench method for best results but along with it I have tried buckets and a variety of other ways..I have found that weather plays a bigger role than method of planting..
Yes, I have done no dig with potatoes for the last 3 years and have for 2 years I had great crops and then last year was rubbish. I am sure it was because last year was SO cold up here (far N Scotland) that we had no spring-we went straight from winter to summer. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good harvest this year after a mildish winter and good spring.
I did the Ruth Stout Method last year and did quite well. I put down beer traps for the slugs and then last year came across Nematodes - I watered them in all over my garden (20 metres by 12) and it seemed to stop the little rascals cold. Most of my slugs died happy in the beer This year I have been saving egg shells and when the bucket is full crush them down - that will deter slugs and also add some calcium to the garden. I get my grass clippings from Neighbours gardens a ready supply. Small and green potatoes got thrown in the Compost pile and decided to grow a lot of potatoes so all good. I cannot dig and use pallet collars and weed mat as raised beds and also lots of buckets - but I add Potato fert. Got that many last year I donated to the local Soup Kitchen and Foodbank pots, onions, celery and leeks.
I grow my potatoes in 30 Ltr. Buckets because I only grow In my garden and they take up to much space. This year I used a peat free compost in my main crop but I had some ordinary compost for my earlies and they are growing well, the main crop were taking a long time to show and I found the peat free compost was sodden so I removed the majority of the compost and let it dry out and now all are growing strong. The important thing though is I always use blood fish and bone and a potato fertiliser as potatoes are growing for such l long time they run out of feed from the compost early on . I know how disappointing it is when you only get a small harvest so I’m hoping we get good weather and great crops this year. Good luck Erica and thanks for sharing I enjoy your videos as you do your gardening like most of us do without the aid of grow lights.
Before going no dig, I always dug trenches for my spuds. The only difference I did was to mow the grass and put the grass clipping in the bottom of the trenches, it always worked really well for me. The grass being slightly acid is supposed to ward off scab. This year is the first year I have tried growing potatoes in pots (as well as loads in the ground) . So far after emtying a couple of pots, I'm not impressed, the spuds were beautiful but the yield was rather low. My main potatoes were planted using a long handled "bulb planter" and so far I am well pleased with the results. Maybe next year I will try all methods using the same seed potatoes to have a proper comparison.
I had truly terrible results last year growing in buckets. By far the worst harvest of spuds ever!! This year I have been overrun by leafy woodchip that’s been in a huge pile since October. So I’ve popped both earlier & mains about 2” into the ground & then just mounded up with this chip mulch. Fingers crossed! The foliage is looking promising already on my earlies & the mains have just started peeping through! Lovely video :) x
Hello came across your video by chance and I’m doing exactly the same this year for exactly the same reasons! And also going into my forth growing season! We are spud twins 😂😂😂
Makes sense to me Erica - do whatever works best for you!! Hoping we all get bumper crops this year. (You should save this video for the historical archives to show kids in the future how potatoes used to be grown in the old days - LOL 😆😂)
Well, you have to hone your practices guided by your experiences. I often got slugged when I tried maincrop in the ground so went to buckets. My potato growing is escalating from a couple of bags up to 21 buckets this year so I reused last years compost , add BFB &potato fertiliser and mixed it 50/50 with homemade compost. Gradually getting better with my spuds each year.
I cannot carry big bags of commercial compost so got a friend to get me Coco Coir in 5kg blocks. With them you add the fert you want and it seems to work better for me. lost track of the number of buckets and bags I use.
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden Definitely. I don't make enough to do a complete change each year but with a 50/50 mix I should just about eek it out. Almost out of it at the moment - I've 1 full pile left but that's not ready yet and I'm starting filling up the totally empty bin. The last scrapings of the almost empty bin are needed for my squash and toms..
Another fantastic video Erica. I haven't planted my main crop potatoes yet but plan to do so this week. Great to see you again. Keep safe, well and happy gardening.
I'm with you, I am trying no dig potatoes for the first time this year but doing most of them our old reliable way of digging them in. I also find the main drawback to no-dig is the cost and defeats one of the big benefits of growing your own.
The main con with growing in trenches is that it takes up more space. With no dig, one can do a square foot gardening placement. However, your reported issues may make the trench method the best choice. I would recommend putting compost material in the trench to compost in place.
Hi Erica great video, I've grown in buckets for the last two years I just had my first harvest of first earlys today, I noticed that you didn't add any extra fertiliser might be a benefit to add some fish blood and bone, thanks for sharing stay safe 👍 🏴
Someone on our plots, said no 7se having potatoes in ground past July where we are. So i put main crop in cardboard boxes, and buckets. I have done Ruth stout method with bean stalk straw. Who knows what will happen. Enjoy the harvest Erica, sure i think gardening is all a experiment and who knows. Tony O Neill got so many potatoes in hos compost bin that grew by accident. Slugs are the bain of our lives ha ha ha.
Hope you don't get the pest damage again this year - that's what puts me off trenches. Maybe if you do try buckets again you could use homemade compost or add blood fish and bone to the cheap stuff. Cheers
This is the first year of doing maincrop in buckets. I’ve used a mix of bought compost my own compost and garden soil with some coffee grinds mixed in as well. I’ve done the same with all of them actually. See what happens 😀
Evening Erica great vid a few tips I use ya might want to try Use the buckets still but drill bigger drainage holes with a step drill. And Bury the buckets in the soil a few inches
Really interesting video Erica, I'm on year 3 of growing in the ground. It's always worked really well for me but I finally got round to getting some of those potato pots to try out next year. Sounds like good quality compost is the key, which is a bit of a bummer because I'm like you when it comes to spending in the garden ha!
Yup, for me gardening is about spending as little money as I can, rather than spending all the money for the best of the best... Then I cry when it's a rubbish harvest. 😂 I won't change... 🤣
Hello Erica, I've not had much success with buckets for last couple of years of trying. I reckon this is a combination of that I'm still a novice and also i acquired 72 free buckets from a florist which are much smaller than bespoke tatty buckets. I to have considered reverting back to trench planting as the need arises. I'm not intentionally growing potatoes this year though I have quite a few volunteer ones growing from tiny tubers from last years spent compost I have where I'm planting beans and pumpkins. There's not much impetus for me to grow tatties at the moment as I can still get a 20kg sack of spuds from the farm shop for under a fiver. So far, the beetroots, parsnip, carrots, onions and peas are doing well in the raised beds and I've got a plethora of garluc :) Anyhoo, I hope you have a better crop this year reverting back to old skool methods :) P.S. Ive recently discovered the benefits of grass clippings ( though maybe not for tatties :) as mulch and compost bulker. Best wishes, Rob. Leeds.
Hope you get a good crop. Would have been nice if you had done a mix of trenches and pots (with decent compost or add some fertiliser) to do a nice comparison test. I am growing in pots. It's my second year growing and I did pots last year too. The results were pretty good. I think the thing with pots is you need to really make sure the soil is kept moist because they dry out so quickly. I just love how much less work growing in pots is in terms of both planting and harvesting. I add some shredded wood to the bottom of my pots to help with drainage. It also rots down over the season and over winter providing nutrients for next years growing. I also add plenty of blood fish and bone to the compost and add grass clippings on top which I can mix into the compost after harvesting. My thinking is the shredded wood and grass clippings is like adding browns and greens on a compost pile. It's worked for me so far pretty well. My potatoes didn't get a large as your trench ones though so maybe that's one of the advantages of the trench method - bigger spuds. Although I have seen Sarpo Mira grown in 30l pots and they came out massive, so maybe it's more down to soil, fertiliser and watering rather than method.
Yes, I think 100 percent that pots with great compost is best for sure. The only issue is I just don't want to spend a lot of money this year.... Growing your own is meant to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly... My food will end up with just as many miles as buying from the supermarket if I keep buying in compost... Also, the comparison of trenches and pots is a great idea but there are so many video ideas and so little time. 😂 Thanks for watching. 😊
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden I have for years at the end of the growing season buried my compost material in the garden. I dig trenches and dump grass clippings, leaves, powdered egg shells, coffee grounds, tea leaves and banana peels I had piled up over the summer. I simply bury it and let it finish breaking down until I plant again in late May. It keeps the soil loose which is good for potatoes. If you grow in buckets I’ve found potting mix to be the best. You can use it for a few seasons with fertilizer. Anything in buckets requires more fertilizer and water. Especially when temps hit the 80’s and 90’s.
I don’t put grass clippings on my potatoes due to fearing slugs! I have struggled with no-dig methods of growing potatoes except I had a fantastic harvest with my first early Colleen potatoes last year. I think it is easier for them to be under watered with no dig 🤔
It seems that most people who try both methods get better yields from in-ground plantings. Unfortunately my soil carries verticillium wilt, so I'm trying grow bags this year. Wish me luck!
Your previous harvests from no dig and buckets looked very wet. I would suggest less water and only put dry clippings on your no dig. I use hay on my Ruth Stout bed and dont water at all. I get a great harvest. The wetter the potatoes, the more rot and slug damage you will get. I would try another no dig with dry material for covering and reduce your watering right down. Do a comparison and see how you go. I overwatered my potatoes in buckets once and got a bad result as well. I dont grow in buckets now as it concentrates the water it too small of an area. Good luck with your potatoes.
Very informative vid. Since i have opted for bags/buckets + cheap soil this year you have filled me with foreboding 😧 Hopefully my liquid compost will save my potato crop
Maincrop potatoes are so cheap now it's not worth holding the ground for months I just grow first and second earlies and once they are out replant with something else
Erica, have you tried a long handles shovel? A Spade is made for cutting and lifting turf, and there is a reason all the road crews and landscapers use long handled shovels... they are much easier on the back...
I'm delighted, you went through the same process as me. Fertility of the soil is key, a bucket full of shop bought compost won't do. I'm lucky I can get manure and seaweed and a few old gardeners to give advice. Next thought, crop rotation? That works too.
I have always used the trench method for best results but along with it I have tried buckets and a variety of other ways..I have found that weather plays a bigger role than method of planting..
Yes, I have done no dig with potatoes for the last 3 years and have for 2 years I had great crops and then last year was rubbish. I am sure it was because last year was SO cold up here (far N Scotland) that we had no spring-we went straight from winter to summer. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good harvest this year after a mildish winter and good spring.
I did the Ruth Stout Method last year and did quite well. I put down beer traps for the slugs and then last year came across Nematodes - I watered them in all over my garden (20 metres by 12) and it seemed to stop the little rascals cold. Most of my slugs died happy in the beer This year I have been saving egg shells and when the bucket is full crush them down - that will deter slugs and also add some calcium to the garden.
I get my grass clippings from Neighbours gardens a ready supply. Small and green potatoes got thrown in the Compost pile and decided to grow a lot of potatoes so all good.
I cannot dig and use pallet collars and weed mat as raised beds and also lots of buckets - but I add Potato fert. Got that many last year I donated to the local Soup Kitchen and Foodbank pots, onions, celery and leeks.
Sounds great.
I grow my potatoes in 30 Ltr. Buckets because I only grow In my garden and they take up to much space. This year I used a peat free compost in my main crop but I had some ordinary compost for my earlies and they are growing well, the main crop were taking a long time to show and I found the peat free compost was sodden so I removed the majority of the compost and let it dry out and now all are growing strong. The important thing though is I always use blood fish and bone and a potato fertiliser as potatoes are growing for such l long time they run out of feed from the compost early on . I know how disappointing it is when you only get a small harvest so I’m hoping we get good weather and great crops this year. Good luck Erica and thanks for sharing I enjoy your videos as you do your gardening like most of us do without the aid of grow lights.
Hope yours grow well! 😊
good luck with your spuds erica
Thanks.
Aunty, well done.
Before going no dig, I always dug trenches for my spuds. The only difference I did was to mow the grass and put the grass clipping in the bottom of the trenches, it always worked really well for me. The grass being slightly acid is supposed to ward off scab. This year is the first year I have tried growing potatoes in pots (as well as loads in the ground) . So far after emtying a couple of pots, I'm not impressed, the spuds were beautiful but the yield was rather low. My main potatoes were planted using a long handled "bulb planter" and so far I am well pleased with the results. Maybe next year I will try all methods using the same seed potatoes to have a proper comparison.
I had truly terrible results last year growing in buckets. By far the worst harvest of spuds ever!! This year I have been overrun by leafy woodchip that’s been in a huge pile since October. So I’ve popped both earlier & mains about 2” into the ground & then just mounded up with this chip mulch. Fingers crossed!
The foliage is looking promising already on my earlies & the mains have just started peeping through!
Lovely video :) x
Sounds great, hope they grow well for you.
I always love your potato harvest videos . Fingers crossed for this year . I hope they’ll be whoppers 🥔 x❤️
I've planted the same sort in my garden too
Hope they grow well.
Hello came across your video by chance and I’m doing exactly the same this year for exactly the same reasons! And also going into my forth growing season! We are spud twins 😂😂😂
Makes sense to me Erica - do whatever works best for you!!
Hoping we all get bumper crops this year.
(You should save this video for the historical archives to show kids in the future how potatoes used to be grown in the old days - LOL 😆😂)
Haha! 😂
Thanks for watching. 😊
Good luck with the pots hope you get a good harvest this year
Thanks for watching.
Great video Erica :)
Thanks Tony.
Well, you have to hone your practices guided by your experiences.
I often got slugged when I tried maincrop in the ground so went to buckets. My potato growing is escalating from a couple of bags up to 21 buckets this year so I reused last years compost , add BFB &potato fertiliser and mixed it 50/50 with homemade compost. Gradually getting better with my spuds each year.
I cannot carry big bags of commercial compost so got a friend to get me Coco Coir in 5kg blocks. With them you add the fert you want and it seems to work better for me. lost track of the number of buckets and bags I use.
I reckon the homemade compost is an amazing add!
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden Definitely. I don't make enough to do a complete change each year but with a 50/50 mix I should just about eek it out. Almost out of it at the moment - I've 1 full pile left but that's not ready yet and I'm starting filling up the totally empty bin. The last scrapings of the almost empty bin are needed for my squash and toms..
Another fantastic video Erica. I haven't planted my main crop potatoes yet but plan to do so this week. Great to see you again. Keep safe, well and happy gardening.
I'm with you, I am trying no dig potatoes for the first time this year but doing most of them our old reliable way of digging them in. I also find the main drawback to no-dig is the cost and defeats one of the big benefits of growing your own.
You're so right, fingers crossed you do OK this year!
Great video Erica let’s hope you have an amazing harvest !!! Go girl!!
Fingers crossed!
Good luck this year! 🍀
Thank you.
The main con with growing in trenches is that it takes up more space.
With no dig, one can do a square foot gardening placement.
However, your reported issues may make the trench method the best choice.
I would recommend putting compost material in the trench to compost in place.
Thank you for the advice. 😊
This is what we do in our potato trenches too, has been working for us for generations.
Hi Erica great video, I've grown in buckets for the last two years I just had my first harvest of first earlys today, I noticed that you didn't add any extra fertiliser might be a benefit to add some fish blood and bone, thanks for sharing stay safe 👍 🏴
Hiya, I don't use Blood, fish and bone but the ground here has been fallow for a season and had a compost heap here too so it should be pretty good
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden look forward to seeing how you get on with them stay safe 👍 🏴
Someone on our plots, said no 7se having potatoes in ground past July where we are. So i put main crop in cardboard boxes, and buckets. I have done Ruth stout method with bean stalk straw. Who knows what will happen. Enjoy the harvest Erica, sure i think gardening is all a experiment and who knows. Tony O Neill got so many potatoes in hos compost bin that grew by accident.
Slugs are the bain of our lives ha ha ha.
Thanks for watching. 😊His harvest from the compost bin was great!
Hope you don't get the pest damage again this year - that's what puts me off trenches. Maybe if you do try buckets again you could use homemade compost or add blood fish and bone to the cheap stuff. Cheers
Fingers crossed! Thanks for watching.
This is the first year of doing maincrop in buckets. I’ve used a mix of bought compost my own compost and garden soil with some coffee grinds mixed in as well. I’ve done the same with all of them actually. See what happens 😀
Evening Erica great vid a few tips I use ya might want to try
Use the buckets still but drill bigger drainage holes with a step drill.
And Bury the buckets in the soil a few inches
Great advice! Thank you.
Really interesting video Erica, I'm on year 3 of growing in the ground. It's always worked really well for me but I finally got round to getting some of those potato pots to try out next year. Sounds like good quality compost is the key, which is a bit of a bummer because I'm like you when it comes to spending in the garden ha!
Yup, for me gardening is about spending as little money as I can, rather than spending all the money for the best of the best... Then I cry when it's a rubbish harvest. 😂
I won't change... 🤣
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden we are kindred spirits
I just dug my tater to day round they's parts at's a seen to plant a hole tater good lock Erica.
Thanks for watching.
Hello Erica, I've not had much success with buckets for last couple of years of trying. I reckon this is a combination of that I'm still a novice and also i acquired 72 free buckets from a florist which are much smaller than bespoke tatty buckets. I to have considered reverting back to trench planting as the need arises. I'm not intentionally growing potatoes this year though I have quite a few volunteer ones growing from tiny tubers from last years spent compost I have where I'm planting beans and pumpkins. There's not much impetus for me to grow tatties at the moment as I can still get a 20kg sack of spuds from the farm shop for under a fiver.
So far, the beetroots, parsnip, carrots, onions and peas are doing well in the raised beds and I've got a plethora of garluc :)
Anyhoo, I hope you have a better crop this year reverting back to old skool methods :)
P.S. Ive recently discovered the benefits of grass clippings ( though maybe not for tatties :) as mulch and compost bulker.
Best wishes,
Rob.
Leeds.
Yes grass clippings seem to attract slugs for me too, I grow in buckets with home made compost and regular feeding as digging is beyond me now.
Feeding the buckets is the way forward, especially if you have cheap compost! 😂
good video
Hope you get a good crop.
Would have been nice if you had done a mix of trenches and pots (with decent compost or add some fertiliser) to do a nice comparison test.
I am growing in pots. It's my second year growing and I did pots last year too. The results were pretty good. I think the thing with pots is you need to really make sure the soil is kept moist because they dry out so quickly. I just love how much less work growing in pots is in terms of both planting and harvesting.
I add some shredded wood to the bottom of my pots to help with drainage. It also rots down over the season and over winter providing nutrients for next years growing. I also add plenty of blood fish and bone to the compost and add grass clippings on top which I can mix into the compost after harvesting. My thinking is the shredded wood and grass clippings is like adding browns and greens on a compost pile. It's worked for me so far pretty well. My potatoes didn't get a large as your trench ones though so maybe that's one of the advantages of the trench method - bigger spuds. Although I have seen Sarpo Mira grown in 30l pots and they came out massive, so maybe it's more down to soil, fertiliser and watering rather than method.
Yes, I think 100 percent that pots with great compost is best for sure. The only issue is I just don't want to spend a lot of money this year.... Growing your own is meant to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly... My food will end up with just as many miles as buying from the supermarket if I keep buying in compost... Also, the comparison of trenches and pots is a great idea but there are so many video ideas and so little time. 😂 Thanks for watching. 😊
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden I have for years at the end of the growing season buried my compost material in the garden. I dig trenches and dump grass clippings, leaves, powdered egg shells, coffee grounds, tea leaves and banana peels I had piled up over the summer. I simply bury it and let it finish breaking down until I plant again in late May. It keeps the soil loose which is good for potatoes.
If you grow in buckets I’ve found potting mix to be the best. You can use it for a few seasons with fertilizer.
Anything in buckets requires more fertilizer and water. Especially when temps hit the 80’s and 90’s.
I don’t put grass clippings on my potatoes due to fearing slugs! I have struggled with no-dig methods of growing potatoes except I had a fantastic harvest with my first early Colleen potatoes last year. I think it is easier for them to be under watered with no dig 🤔
I can't wait to harvest my first earlies!
It seems that most people who try both methods get better yields from in-ground plantings. Unfortunately my soil carries verticillium wilt, so I'm trying grow bags this year. Wish me luck!
Good luck! 😊
Great video. Greetings from Poland ❤
Thanks for watching! Greetings from Wales!
Your previous harvests from no dig and buckets looked very wet. I would suggest less water and only put dry clippings on your no dig. I use hay on my Ruth Stout bed and dont water at all. I get a great harvest. The wetter the potatoes, the more rot and slug damage you will get. I would try another no dig with dry material for covering and reduce your watering right down. Do a comparison and see how you go. I overwatered my potatoes in buckets once and got a bad result as well. I dont grow in buckets now as it concentrates the water it too small of an area. Good luck with your potatoes.
I live in Wales, it rains a lot, unfortunately I can't control that aspect. 😉
@@ericaslittlewelshgarden Oh, ok. I thought you mentioned you may have overwatered. We definitely cant control nature. 😊 Love your videos. 👍
Very informative vid. Since i have opted for bags/buckets + cheap soil this year you have filled me with foreboding 😧
Hopefully my liquid compost will save my potato crop
How about giving them a feed every now and then?
Are you now planting your main crop potatoes
Yes.
👍👍👍
Thanks
00.49 Did you mean, no dig is a win, win?
Yes! 😂
Nothing wrong with cheap peatfree compost just add some BFB and chicken pellets
I don't use BFB but yes adding extra things is a great idea.
Just subbed yiu im UK manchestster area..be nice to share info or exchange plants seeds etc if your interested ?
Danny x
Your cute btw lol
Maincrop potatoes are so cheap now it's not worth holding the ground for months I just grow first and second earlies and once they are out replant with something else
Thanks for watching.
maybe u are watering too much the potatos and they are rotting
Maybe the wet Welsh weather watered them too much.