Potatoes

[Richards7210]

I’ve always wanted to grow a few acres of potatoes. This year I have planted 2 acres of Maris pipers. Looking to be no more than a small grower supplying local people it all has me thinking. I’m yet to harvest them yet but looking at options of selling them bulk to create a lump sum of cash or do I buy the small grading equipment to bag and sell them this winter. Obviously concerns for storage but I can buy some boxes to store them in a local cold store once harvested. With the cash I intend to invest in various machinery to then increase to maybe 5 acres going forward next year and then who knows for the future ! Any advice or opinions appreciated. I’m looking for ideas or experiences in this sector. I know it’s small but if done well could be a nice little earner in the future! I’m all ears.

 

[spin cycle]

@carbonfibre farmer is the expert ......or rather his dad

how are you planning to harvest them richard?

 

[Richards7210]

@carbonfibre farmer is the expert ......or rather his dad

how are you planning to harvest them richard?

@carbonfibre farmer is the expert ......or rather his dad

how are you planning to harvest them richard?

intending to pay the chap with a cold store to harvest them. Otherwise another local contractor would be prepared to lift them.

 

[delilah]

If you're near to chimney pots, maybe do dig your own days ? As with pumpkins, folks pay far more for the experience than the actual produce is worth.

Otherwise, see if one of the online outfits can match you up with an outlet. There's a few about, this one seems to be gaining traction:
https://www.ooooby.com/

 

[spin cycle]

I'm amazed you can get a contractor to lift 2 acs tbh

 

[Richards7210]

I'm amazed you can get a contractor to lift 2 acs tbh

 

[Richards7210]

hopefully isnt too much to ask for if the harvester is on the tractor. Only a few miles away. As I said willing to pay! Not one for charity work so don’t expect anyone else to be.

 

[New Puritan]

@delilah - Does PYO with potatoes work? I can imagine a lot of crop damage with forks going through potatoes etc. Maybe I'm just judging everyone else by my own abilities!

If you're only doing two acres you could maybe even dig a fair few by hand if you're selling at the farm gate?

 

[delilah]

@delilah - Does PYO with potatoes work? I can imagine a lot of crop damage with forks going through potatoes etc. Maybe I'm just judging everyone else by my own abilities!

If you're only doing two acres you could maybe even dig a fair few by hand if you're selling at the farm gate?

I'm sure there's plenty of damage, but if the punter is paying for the experience then just got to run with it. It may even be that with taking the tiddlers home there's less waste per acre than on a supermarket spec contract ?

 

[delilah]

Just found this as one example.

PICK YOUR OWN SPUDS

www.wroxhambarns.co.uk

 

[Tarw Coch]

@delilah - Does PYO with potatoes work? I can imagine a lot of crop damage with forks going through potatoes etc. Maybe I'm just judging everyone else by my own abilities!

If you're only doing two acres you could maybe even dig a fair few by hand if you're selling at the farm gate?

Maybe pick your own rather than dig your own, back when I was a kid, before the advent of all the big modern tack today there were single row potato diggersthat would fetch the spuds to the surface that we’d hand pick into buckets by hand.
Would just need to have designated digging days/times and just lift enough for demand………..all very weather dependant though

 

[Ramrod]

Piper - If aiming for chipping, don’t get them to cold in cold store

 

[Hfd Cattle]

2 acres is a lot of bags of spuds to sell 'PYO' .
I would be finding an old ransomes potato digger and getting on faceache etc and start advertising designated days when you will lift a row for folks to self pick., a set of scales in the field or yard but beware you will get some turn up and only want a bucketful ,which to some people is a lot of spuds.
I've seen it done around here and it worked well ,once word has gone around it could be quite popular.
Good luck though, and keep us posted .

 

[Bald Rick]

Mr & Mrs Potato sat down to supper with their 3 daughters.

Between the main course & pudding, Mrs Potato asked her daughters who they'd like to marry

Daughter 1 "I am going to marry a King Edward so I can be a queen"
Daughter 2 "I am going to marry a Jersey Royal so I can be a princess"
Daughter 3 "I am going to marry Des Lynam"

Both parents gasped at that & the mother exclaimed: "You cannot marry Des Lynam .. he's just a common tater"

About the sum of my knowledge of spuds TBH ...... apart from Spraing

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

@carbonfibre farmer is the expert ......or rather his dad

how are you planning to harvest them richard?

He doesn't sell them rather more he forces them on unsuspecting punters

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

Anyway spin,you should be following this all with interest

 

[Derrick Hughes]

My niebour was selling spuds in a big way around and about
Decided to grow his own
6 acre field planted
Picking time came , this havester turned up
He hitched up and most of the village turned up to watch
Coming up the webs was more stone than spuds ,3 of us at the back and could not keep up picking the stone off , he dont sell spuds anyore
On the other side mum used to grow early spuds ,picked them with a fork ,sold at the farm gate and did well
I think the maral in that is ,dont think to big or you could fall on your face
Last point dad said never grow early and lates in same field or blight will wipe the lates out
Then there was the time i offerd to sell spuds to the loacal Chippy
His wife come in for hay
She said if you value your life dont sell chip spuds

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Just an example of what blight can do, the piece at this end and the other brown bits are unsprayed plots on our trail site