After a few weeks in 3" pots I decided to put the potatoes from true seed into large pots for the duration. They are going in pots which are about 10" across and the size I'd usually use for tomatoes or aubergines. Some of them have, in addition to the feeding roots, the start of the thicker roots that will end in a potato! You can just see one here.
I planted them up to their necks in the pots and will probably leave them there until about September to maximise the crop. I have 6 of these pots and expect 6 different potatoes. Interesting times!
Here's the first fruit on my cross tomato. As a cross between a heritage and an F1 hybrid I'm at a loss as to what to call it. It's not an F1 and it's not an F2. Fx (where x is an integer) as they used to say in the Difficult Sums lessons. Hairy little beggar isn't it?
14 comments:
Gosh, you're so patient. You'll get these mystery potatoes, and have to wait another whole year before you can grow extras so you can taste them!
At least your mystery tomatoes won't take as long.
I am not a very patient person... but I am trying to learn.
Hi Flum, just to let you know I've sent a couple of emails to the liveDOTcom address because I think that regular stuff still isn't getting through. If you don't receive them, let me know and I'll go and shout at our ISP. hugs, Bilbo
Good luck with your potatoes in the pots. I've never grown potatoes, so it should be an interesting experiment for you!
Not THAT patient Garden Girl - I'll taste one or two from each batch to see if any are worth continuing with next year. It will build stock up slowly.
Thanks Bilbo - will go and check!
Hi P Nguyen. I grow early potatoes every year but this is the first time I've grown them from seed instead of 'seed potaotes' which are always a clone.
How easily do the potato flowers cross, Flum?
Apologies if you've posted elsewhere and I've not picked up on it - but did you have to pollinate the flowers as you did with the tommies?
Or is it a total mystery - exciting times!
I'm not sure about the crossing Hazel. They are related to and very similar in structure to tomato flowers, which are self fertile. You get different plants from the seeds though, much as you do with apple pips. You need to propagate vegitatively to get the same as your original plant - cuttings or grafting with apples, and seed potatoes to give you another copy of the parent plant.
Good, innit?
The seeded potatoes grow really fast. Do they develop as many tubers as their seed potato relatives?
I've never tried this before Dan - so you'll have to ask me again at the end of the year!
Been thinking about your F? tomatoes, and I think they are the tomato equivalent of mutts...
I mean, if they were dogs:
Poodle x Labrador = Labradoodle (F1)
Labradoodle x Alsatian = Mutt, no?
Not that mutts are bad dogs... often healthiest and we have loved every one of our mutts.
So long as I can end up with a re-producable mutt with a good flavour I don't mind!
Fascinating experiment with the potato seeds! I will watch with anticipation.
As for the Tomato/Mutt debate - my mutt is the healthiest doggy we have ever had. Am I right in thinking the F1 vigour only happens in the first cross? Perhaps Rebsie from Daughter of the Soil will be able to answer your question.
Hi Matron, it's true that the first cross (F1) exhibits the hyrbrid vigour we hear so much about, but in the case of tomatoes they are all vigorous anyway. Toms as inbreeders aren't crossed for vigour but for particular characteristics the breeder wants. Interesting though, isn't it?
How about naming it Tomutto? ;)
Now there's a thought!
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