Spud in a Bucket 2024 - Sunday 8th September 4:00pm
Our Spud in the Bucket weigh-in will take place on Sunday 8th September from 4:00pm at the Jolly Cricketers.
Don’t miss the grand finale of the 2024 Spud in a Bucket competition, at the Jolly Cricketers,
when contestants line up their buckets. The contents are weighed in front of a crowd of spectators and
recorded on our bespoke Spud-o-meter. When the very last crop is weighed, the winners are announced,
with separate trophies for adults and children.
Thank you Amanda and Chris for hosting this event. Delicious baked potatoes will also be available at the Jolly Cricketers to purchase and enjoy with our drinks.
We are grateful to Yalden, our friendly DIY and Garden store at Three Households, for their continuing support.
Preparing for the weigh-in
Stop watering your spud at the end of August and put the bucket somewhere dry. This way it will be lighter to carry and the soil will fall away from the potatoes easily. Please also trim off and compost all the leaves before taking it to the pub.
Please ensure that you have labelled your bucket with the entrant's name.
Please ensure that you have labelled your bucket with the entrant's name.
Growing tips
When to plant
Before the end of April. If the shoots appear above soil level before the danger of frost has passed,
you must protect it from the cold.
How to plant
IMPORTANT, you need to drill PLENTY OF DRAINAGE HOLES IN YOUR BUCKET.
The spud will rot if it remains water-logged. If you’re standing the bucket on a hard surface,
raise it using pot feet or bricks to aid drainage.
Choose a cool, light place and fill your bucket with 10-15 cm of good garden soil mixed with compost - or just compost if you don’t have access to soil. Set the potato onto this base layer with sprouts facing upwards, then cover with another 10cm of soil/compost. If you’re buying compost, please choose peat-free. View this three minute video to learn why.
When the first leaves start to appear, add more compost/soil to keep the shoots well covered - carry on doing this while growing until the container is full, by which time, the danger of frost will have passed so it’s safe for the shoots to emerge.
Keep your spud well-watered but NOT water-logged. You won’t win if it has periods of dryness or swamp!
Potatoes are hungry so don’t forget to feed once a week with a suitable plant food - but don’t overdose!
(Good home-made liquid feed is easy to make if you have a patch of comfrey in your garden)
Good Luck!
Before the end of April. If the shoots appear above soil level before the danger of frost has passed,
you must protect it from the cold.
How to plant
IMPORTANT, you need to drill PLENTY OF DRAINAGE HOLES IN YOUR BUCKET.
The spud will rot if it remains water-logged. If you’re standing the bucket on a hard surface,
raise it using pot feet or bricks to aid drainage.
Choose a cool, light place and fill your bucket with 10-15 cm of good garden soil mixed with compost - or just compost if you don’t have access to soil. Set the potato onto this base layer with sprouts facing upwards, then cover with another 10cm of soil/compost. If you’re buying compost, please choose peat-free. View this three minute video to learn why.
When the first leaves start to appear, add more compost/soil to keep the shoots well covered - carry on doing this while growing until the container is full, by which time, the danger of frost will have passed so it’s safe for the shoots to emerge.
Keep your spud well-watered but NOT water-logged. You won’t win if it has periods of dryness or swamp!
Potatoes are hungry so don’t forget to feed once a week with a suitable plant food - but don’t overdose!
(Good home-made liquid feed is easy to make if you have a patch of comfrey in your garden)
Good Luck!
