Topic: Anyone Know What This Is?

[Golach]

Now the weeds have gone on a fairly large portion of Plot No. 1, these have popped up.  I suspect they may be potatoes that had been planted by the previous tenant X amount of years ago but since I've never grown potatoes before, I'm not sure.

There are three of them - all in a very neat, straight line.

[Jayb]

I'd agree with you, from your pictures they do look like potatoes sprouting.

[Golach]

Thought they might be as they look similar to spuds in a plot nearby but smaller.

Is it worth letting them grow or should I just dig them up?  Seems by the amount of small potatoes I've dug up (most rotten), the previous tenant was fond of his spuds.

[bionear2]

Known around here as "volunteers". Its not easy to be sure you have gathered all spuds from your rows.....especially PFA or Ratte where there are dozens of small tubers. Usually takes me two years to clear them all - just in time for the rotation to put spuds back in!

[Golach]

Think I'll let them grow and see what I get.  Seems a shame to think they've survived all this time just to dig them up.

I wonder what else will pop up now the weeds, at least on one half of the plot are gone.

I had that part of the plot earmarked for my runner and broad beans, also my peas as I knew the previous tenant had spuds there - dug up quite a lot of small tubers, some good, some rotten.  Still, only 3 potato plants so can work round them for this year.

[kippers garden]

Yes did them up as it's 'volunteers' like this that carry blight which unfortunately survives in the seed (the actual potato)

[aj]

Yes did them up as it's 'volunteers' like this that carry blight which unfortunately survives in the seed (the actual potato)

Yes that's what is spouted but last year we left all our volunteers [the year before we all had really bad blight] and last year, no blight. I believe this nugget of info is to get us buying new seed spuds each year [lucrative].

I leave them and when they start to die back, mark them out and have bonus potatoes for free.

[Robert_Brenchley]

There wasn't any blight last year because the weather wasn't conducive to it. The previous two years, it was all over my site the moment we had a Smith period, and of course those were ideal summers for the disease. It adds up if blight was endemic on the site - which can only have been in tubers - and was (probably) largely eliminated by dry weather conditions last year w3hich prevented spread. Now the cycle begins all over again.

[Golach]

Interesting re the blight, which I know can strike very suddenly without warning.

I haven't planted any spuds myself as I'm not a great lover of them, only have them maybe once a week or less.  Prefer rice (I make a lot of curries with left-over chicken etc., - very economical what you can do with a £2.99 chicken from Aldis) and pasta (make my own) so have gone for veg we really like.

On a slightly different note and I know there is a thread somewhere about it, I re-sowed more cauli, sprouts along with cabbage and calabrese in the greenhouse the other day as the original sowing didn't go well.  I did get some strong plants but the rest either didn't germinate or are very weak.

I used cheap compost for the first sowing.  Second sowing I used Westland John Innes and, even after only two days, was in the greenhouse just now and the seeds are popping up everywhere.

I do think the cheap compost is a false economy so won't be buying that again.  I also planted loads of tomatoes in the same cheap stuff and they are not doing well at all, probably going to lose a lot of them.  Some are fairly good but the rest, the leaves have curled round and they don't look happy at all.  Will pot them up into the better quality soil later today and see if that helps them.

I digress.  Back to the spuds.  More have popped up on the allotment, probably about 6 so far and they look strong, healthy plants.  Time will tell whether they are blighted or not.  As far as I know, no-one has been on that plot for a number of years so hopefully they won't have blight.

[chriscross1966]

Given our last winter I doubt a blighted spud would have survived just underground, it's been so warm the blight would ahvbe kept going adn killed it

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hopefully. The volunteers I've dug up this spring have all looked perfectly healthy so far. Can't be too careful though!

[Digeroo]

I thought you were in Swindon Golach, I suggest you join SALGA it only costs £4 they have good compost at the allotment shop as a very reasonable price.  Lots of other bargains as well. 

Meetings are interesting as well, though rarely about vegetables.  Annual seed orders.  Potato day, Annual Show.