Your comments and tips

23 Sep 17, Dale (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)

Poisons? In a garden? What happens when the neighborhood cats & owls eat the mice or rats?

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24 May 17, Phil Andrews (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi I have some small Kennebac leftover potatoes from my last years crop, they are all sprouting, however the guide says don't plant them till August, can I plant them now or is it just too early.

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27 May 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

The guide says don't plant until August. That might apply in southern parts of Aussie or cold places but if you don't have frosts you can plant now. I live where it gets down to 5-6-7 C in Winter and I just planted mine this week. If you live in a low area and might get frosts then ??? - if you live in a higher area and no frosts, go for it. As my previous post said - wait until the eyes start to shoot and then plant. A tip, dig the soil deep, put in all the compost etc - then with a rake dig some of the soil out to make a furrow. Plant the potatoes and as they grow fill the soil back in. And then hill it up also around the plant.

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24 May 17, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)

Potatoes are frost tender. If you plant them too early they will sprout and be killed by a frost. Try keeping them in a cool, dark place to reduce sprouting. You could probably plant them in July about 200 mm (8") down and cover them with straw or similar to insulate them a bit.

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24 May 17, Gabby (Australia - temperate climate)

Is it safe to use old plastic milk crates to grow potatoes in

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24 May 17, Giovanni (Australia - temperate climate)

It is fine to use milk crates to grow potatoes. Line the bottom, and sides if it is open sided, with old denim jeans or newspaper to help retain water then put a layer of growing medium and some old manure or compost in the bottom. position your potato 'seeds' and then put a layer of growing medium over them. Keep adding the medium as they emerge until you are at the top. Consistent watering is very important for any container grown vegetables.

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22 May 17, Mdumiseni Patrick Khawula (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)

can i p lough potatoes in June ?

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22 May 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)

If you mean 'plough or dig potatoes in June' you definitely can. If you mean 'plough the soil and plant potatoes in June' it would depend on whether you get frosts in your area. If you do it would be better to wait until the weather is warmer as frosts will kill the new potatoes.

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17 May 17, Suzanne (Australia - temperate climate)

The information you have here is helpful, but what i need to know is the average growing time to harvest please. The plants are flowering and I'm wondering if that is an indication? We live on the Sunshine Coast and the potato's were planted in October, 7 months ago.

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18 May 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

In Qld we plant potatoes in Autumn and Spring. St Patrick's Day is the general start time March 17th for Autumn. Spring is probably Sept. They take 12-20 weeks to grow - probably the warmer the climate the quicker. You can pick potatoes any time but to have mature spuds to store for awhile you wait until they flower and then start to die off. Have a little feel around to see how big they are.

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