Digging Up Potatoes

I dug up my potatoes today. It was my first time growing them, and many people I have spoken to have said they don't bother as they cost nothing in the shop. I can see where they are coming from, and they have taken a long time to grow, but I haven't yet decided whether I will pass on growing them next year or not.

I have grown 3 varieties. Hunter, Charlotte and Swift

I haven't had much luck with Swift - you can see it in the photo above, the grow bag next to the watering can. They started to grow well, but after the 3rd or 4th time I added compost to the grow bag the plant stopped growing through. Therefore I have only harvested a very small amount. All the seed potatoes grew as I found the skin among the compost.

Hunter produced a good amount, especially as I dug them up second and so was rather disheartened.

Charlotte also came up with a nice little crop. Considering I grew them is bags it's not a bag little harvest!

I took the bags to the top of the garden so I could reuse the compost. As you can see, the garden slopes down, so I have noticed that over time, roots have started to show in established shrubs. I used the fork to turn over the soil and it's just a question of time for the worms to do their thing. However, there are a couple of things I would like to show you. 

This splitting of the potato is because of too much water while the tuber is growing, according to the research I have done on the internet. Only one potato suffered from that and it was the Hunter variety.

The second photo I want to show you worried me a little more. I still don't know what 100 per cent what has caused this on the potatoes. There are 2 reasons; one I can solve easily for next time. The other will mean I might have to cover the area of compost.

The Swift potatoes do not have this, whereas some in the Hunter and Charlotte bag do. The first thing I found was that it could be drought stress. We've had quite a dry start of summer and that might be the cause for some potatoes to develop these bumps. When I tipped the bags, there were patched where the compost was absolutely dry. I can work with that and bear it in mind for the next crop.

The second reason, however, is what worries me. It could be Root Knot Nematode. It's caused by a microscopic worm that lays eggs on the surface of the potato. You can eat them if you skin them but boyfriend and I just don't like the idea of it, so I have disposed of the ones that have the most "nodes". What worries me, however, is that it can be in the compost I have just tipped onto the garden. Apparently the best thing to do is to cover the area with a transparent plastic, so the heat of the sun kills it. I have yet to find any pesticide that will do the trick. I really, really hope it was simply drought, but I might invest in some plastic just to be on the safe side.

 If you have come across this in your potatoes please share what it was and if it was a pest, how you ensured it did not affect future crops. I guess I am lucky to a certain extent in the sense that I do not use the garden solely for vegetables and so have a natural rotation and variation of things growing. Fingers crossed nothing will come of it!