Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Jayb on April 18, 2015, 08:22:46
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Not as early as I'd have liked, but I'm I'm hoping to get my potatoes planted today :icon_cheers: The ground is dug just needs a sprinkle of fertilizer, it is daft but I'm feeling quite excited about getting them in the ground!
How's everyone else doing?
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Me Dad said always plant potatoes on Good Friday... didn't manage it this year Saturday 4th instead,( Charlotte and Picasso ) It was a full moon ! that's good ?
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It's good they are in the ground, I'm never sure about the moon bit though. Hopefully someone who knows will be able to say.
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/phases.html
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my rocket are just peeping there heads up earthed them up today no sign of my sharpees express and i cant remember my other early having a Senior moment on that one lol
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Intending to plant them next week. We can get frost in Birmingham as late as early May so I don't usually consider planting them until mid to late April. I plant them all at the same time - first and second earlies and maincrops. I never bother digging a trench just use a trowel and plant them deep (Alan Titchmarsh's advice!). The earlies have a shorter time to maturity so they grow faster anyway until they reach their natural programmed die back time.
The thing about planting on Good Friday, according to Mr Medwyn, was to do with the fact that in the old days people worked Monday to Saturday and weren't, for religious reasons, allowed to do any heavy physical work on Sunday. Hence Good Friday was the only day in Spring they could plant them. Good Friday can fall any time between March 22nd and April 25th which is a big range!
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I have had some earlies in buckets and tubs at home but I planted my main crop out today. It seemed like a good day for it, warm with the soil still wet below the surface. As you say - good to get them in the ground.
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My theory is to plant 3 weeks before the final frost date, so that when they push up above ground, they won't get their heads frosted off. As our last frost date is mid May, its a bit early yet. As the ground is cleared ready, I might just plant a row and keep my fingers crossed, or get the cloche out. Mostly they've chitted fine but a few have grown really long shoots about 1' to 18" long, I was wondering if I broke the long shoots off, would they grow new shoots ? It would be a shame to waste them.
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My theory is to plant 3 weeks before the final frost date, so that when they push up above ground, they won't get their heads frosted off. As our last frost date is mid May, its a bit early yet. As the ground is cleared ready, I might just plant a row and keep my fingers crossed, or get the cloche out. Mostly they've chitted fine but a few have grown really long shoots about 1' to 18" long, I was wondering if I broke the long shoots off, would they grow new shoots ? It would be a shame to waste them.
I can't answer what would happen if you broke them off, as never done it. I think they have put a lot of energy into growing them so not sure if they have enough left? Were they in good light, that usually stops them growing so long.
Just an idea put what if you dug a trench and laid them sideways so shoots well protected- don't know!
George the pigman- I went to planting by trowel but found the crops lower, however weather patterns have changed at the same time so it might have been that.
Anyway back to trenching now with lots of compost in the bottom!
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I planted mine second week in March and tubs at home earlier, I've been earthing the lottie spuds this weekend and the others are 8/10 inches high. If frosts are forcast I'll throw a net on them, but frosts get more unpredictable every year, so hayho. :toothy10:
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Planted mine last weekend (Charlotte and Kestrel).
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We can get June frosts in Birmingham. Mine are just beginning to come through. If they get frosted, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it as they'll have developed nice strong root systems, which they wouldn't have done if they hadn't been planted, and will bounce back in no time flat.
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I remember an unexpected June frost a few years ago which pretty much destroyed the foliage of my by-then well grown potatoes. It went all dark and mushy and I thought they'd had it, to be honest.
Two weeks later they looked absolutely fine. The dead stuff dried and fell off, but new leaves and stems grew really quickly.
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I put mine in on St Patricks day - no sign of them yet.
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Mine went in yesterday - 21 tubers of various varieties, plus three Harlequin in a big pot for salad and four of last years Red Robin that chitted so strobly I figured I'd pop them in the Poundland potato bags I was given. The latter may be a mistake - the bags are very wide and shallow (17" wide by 14" high), and the flaps for accessing your spuds don't hold the soil in very well, but it's done.
I chitted them in the porch this year, covering them at any sign of frost, and they've got much stronger shoots on than when I've done them in the hallway, which is probably too dark. This years shoots are short and dark, dark green... though for some reason the Romano are way behind all the rest despite being a second early.
Adrian
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Ruddy fox has been running riot in the furrows!!!!!
I usually plant and hill them up all in one go, they seem to come through fine and keeps them protected from frost.
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My maincrop went in yesterday Maris Piper, Picasso and King Edward but very dry and the sooner it pours the better
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I planted all mine a few weeks ago went I went to the allotment today,( We have been away for my 84th birthday) they are all showing apart from Cara. I plant leaving the soil flat so I have plenty to cover them with tomorrow.
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I am still rather fascinated by Apache (red potatoes with white blotches). They store very badly, so now I know to eat them up first once they are lifted, but I have just planted 16 of the sprouting ones, and this time I will leave them in their patch until they have finished doing their thing. Last year this meant that as well as growing good-sized (medium) potatoes down below, they sent out a tangled network of shallower horizontal shoots with yet more baby potatoes at all the tips. I dug them up for the bigger potatoes, but this year I shall leave them and just see what on earth they do with the shallower shoots (which I will cover with compost).
I did ask last year if anyone had noticed this tangled network effect, but no reply. Anyone this year?
http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties/apache
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I planted my first early, Maris Bard, as well as second early, Kestrel on 21 st March. Today they are both about 10 centimeters high, but covered in fleece.
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I'm only growing 1st and 2nd earlies this year and I finished planting them few weeks ago. Yesterday I did see first show of tops through the soil :icon_cheers: But...nights are still quite cold so all the rows had mulching of grass clippings and comfrey leaves.
My rows are still 'flat' as I try not to bury my plants too deep this year...it is so hard work to dig spuds from 'other side of the earth'.
I'm trying keep the tops safe from frost for another few weeks by mulching with 'greens' and after that I shall pull some soil up, to make shallow ridges around the tops..that's the 'final touch' and then my spuds (and weeds amongst them)can romp away as they please.
I really really looking forward for some new spud again ..YUM YUM...:icon_cheers:
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Mmm, new potatoes and butter, can't wait :sunny:
I'm growing Abbot as a new to me early this year and some varieties I saved from last year. Hope they taste good :toothy10:
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Fresh dug-up-five-minutes-ago potatoes are the best!
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Oooo....I'm hungry now..all this talk of new potatoes and butter.
I usually cook the first cropping on barbeque..boiling over open fire..while waiting spuds to cook, I mush up some butter..'wet' garlic and chopped up chives. If chickens have laid still 'warm' eggs I might drop few in water, to cook same time with potatoes.
Rummaging around the plot to make up salad with various things and I might even drop few spears of asparagus on 'barbie' if there any to harvest..and then TUCK IN! Proper summer feast :icon_cheers:
I reckon this year is going to be best spud harvest EVER! :icon_cheers:
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Grilled asparagus is also amazing! I really should build myself an asparagus bed. How many crowns do you think I'd need for two people?
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I reckon this year is going to be best spud harvest EVER! :icon_cheers:
Let's hope so! I have I think 15 varieties of tubers and 5 of TPS on the go, so I see a lot of taste testing in my future... ;)
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Grilled asparagus is also amazing! I really should build myself an asparagus bed. How many crowns do you think I'd need for two people?
I all depends how much and how often you want to eat them. If I can get, say 8 spears at one picking...that will do nicely for us. My new bed, one that is yet to produce a crop, is about dozen crowns...and it was planned for to keep providing 2 people with occasional tasty addition on the plate. The old lot I had was about 20 odd plants and the few extra plants did make difference..we had quite a bit more to eat. But then I had this 'clever idea' and decided 'the bed' needs moving................................................. :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead:
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Actually managed to get my earlies in over Easter weekend, the mains followed and I thought I'd finished them last Saturday morning. The Head gardener and I went out in the afternoon and dropped into a garden centre -they were selling their packs off half price; as the bed wasn't full I've another 20 to put in tonight!
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I probably planted mine too early in mid March as the first earlies have all come through took netting off at the weekend but we had quite a frost and a bitter cold wind today here in South Yorks and they are looking sorry for themselves but I have taken heart from Silverleafs comments that they do recover so I will keep hoping
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You can always earth them up to protect them from frost.
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I have covered them in netting again as a frost has been forecast for Fri morning but I will look at them tomorrow and see about earthing them up
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There was a tiny bit of frost damage on my first earlies poking their heads through the soil so I've earthed up straight away. Nothing too bad just a bit of blackening on the very edges of the leaves.
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I noticed the first of my potatoes growing through the ridges today :icon_cheers:
Abbot and Violetta are the furthest ahead, followed by a few each of Emmalie, Bintje and Inky Squid :happy7:
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My earlies are poking their heads up too. :) The forecast says 4C tomorrow night though, so I'm covering them up with hay (used rabbit bedding). They haven't suffered any damage from the last few frosts and they look fine.
Fingers crossed for a few more berries this year! I've enjoyed playing with TPS this year and I'd love a few more varieties for next year too.
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My tops did have little bit of frost damage last week, but it is no worry since they have only just started to push through. All rows have had spent compost and grass clippings mulch to cover them for time being...AND...we now have thicker version of garden fleece in sale in our lottie shop...bought 20 metres of the stuff and some of it will be used over the spuds if forecast is promising frost again...SORTED! :icon_cheers:
Grooooow my little beauties...grow...! :happy7:
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I can see flower buds on First earlies Abbot :blob7: :blob7: :blob7:
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my charlottes are budding :blob7:
they are the only ones I grow now as there is only me to feed, one 8 x 4 bed, small to big, they will feed me for a few months
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my charlottes are budding :blob7:
they are the only ones I grow now as there is only me to feed, one 8 x 4 bed, small to big, they will feed me for a few months
Charlotte are so nice as second early potatoes, but if left as main crop they get some lovely large tubers that store well too. If I had to choose only one, Charlotte would be the one for me as well. :wave:
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Well we had our first proper new potato meal last weekend, yum yum yum!
I pulled a plant of Abbot, nice crop and bigger size spuds than I thought would be there. 8 weeks planting to harvest, so quite an early one, I think I could have picked a little earlier too. I'll grow this one again, perhaps try it as an early crop for the poly-tunnel. Pretty flowers, nice waxy type with a good flavour, boil well and scrummy cold/salad and sauteed too.
Elisabeth will be ready next I think :toothy10:
Abbot
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Just started eating Charlotte and Arran Pilot (can't beat the old favourite)
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As the foliage had died back on one plant I lifted, and ate, a few first earlies Red Duke of York earlier in the week.
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Started eating Premier: terrible yield - very disappointed.
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First Swift dug up here.
And also the volunteers that didn't get removed earlier, because they were growing out of the way of other crops. I know you 'must' remove volunteers not to spread blight, but I bend the rules a little by digging them up very early. Tiny tubers of Anja, very low yield, but with much better flavour than Swift - the Swift were much larger of course. :sunny:
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As the foliage had died back on one plant I lifted, and ate, a few first earlies Red Duke of York earlier in the week.
They look lovely Flighty and a good size already.
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That's a shame Amphibian, I'd not heard of Premier, they sound like they should be good.
First Swift dug up here.
And also the volunteers that didn't get removed earlier, because they were growing out of the way of other crops. I know you 'must' remove volunteers not to spread blight, but I bend the rules a little by digging them up very early. Tiny tubers of Anja, very low yield, but with much better flavour than Swift - the Swift were much larger of course. :sunny:
Swift are a little uninspiring, fast though!
I was impressed with Abbot's time to cropping it can't be far behind Rocket or Swift, taste is better too.
Anja, oooh they are a lovely potato, haven't grown them for a few years.
Abbot 8 1/2 weeks
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Abbot? New to me, must put in notebook. Thank you.
They look good indeed, as do Flighty's Red Duke of Yorks, very clean. They should taste good also.
The Swift were bought locally - panic buy when I realised I hadn't got enough seed tubers from last year and from the tps, and we couldn't go to Potato Day. But then came a lovely present of tubers in the post ( :angel11: Jayb) and TandM's no postage offer for a bag of Charlottes. The potato patch this year is no smaller and not much less diverse than normal :happy7:
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Hi Ya, just did a bit of research on your abbot potatoes and was quite impressed. So much so I have ordered 60 tubers from Thomson and Morgan at £2.99 for 20. couldn't believe the price. Don't fully understand why so cheap but went for it and will share with fellow plot holders. I thought that was a good price. Here's hoping.
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They were on offer when I bought them too, :icon_cheers:
It's a good price isn't it, I bought another pack of Abbot for next year too. Hope you like them :happy7:
I think it was last year they had Charlotte potatoes on offer for the same price.
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First Swift dug up here.
And also the volunteers that didn't get removed earlier, because they were growing out of the way of other crops. I know you 'must' remove volunteers not to spread blight, but I bend the rules a little by digging them up very early. Tiny tubers of Anja, very low yield, but with much better flavour than Swift - the Swift were much larger of course. :sunny:
Is that anja or anya, not heard of the former, and I always treat the later as a maincrop and leave till later.
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Is that anja or anya, not heard of the former, and I always treat the later as a maincrop and leave till later.
Excuse my spelling, of course the potato is Anya - duh!
As Anja will tell you, I have made the same mistake the other way round too - double duh!
Interesting to leave them in the ground as a maincrop, but guess the yield is much higher then? These were only coming out because they were volunteers and I don't want to initiate blight problems by leaving them .
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Had to pull up two plants this week - some kind of wilt. Foliage went floppy with yellowish leaves, stems at soil level brownish and mushy. Tubers seem okay, but not as many as I'd hoped for.
It's weird, one Bonnie plant is flowering and looking, er, bonny ;), and the other right next to it wilted and yielded just 5 tubers.
Let's hope that removing the diseased plants will improve the air flow and save the others from a similar fate!
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Had to pull up two plants this week - some kind of wilt. Foliage went floppy with yellowish leaves, stems at soil level brownish and mushy. Tubers seem okay, but not as many as I'd hoped for.
It's weird, one Bonnie plant is flowering and looking, er, bonny ;), and the other right next to it wilted and yielded just 5 tubers.
Let's hope that removing the diseased plants will improve the air flow and save the others from a similar fate!
Could be blackleg.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=223
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Had to pull up two plants this week - some kind of wilt. Foliage went floppy with yellowish leaves, stems at soil level brownish and mushy. Tubers seem okay, but not as many as I'd hoped for.
It's weird, one Bonnie plant is flowering and looking, er, bonny ;), and the other right next to it wilted and yielded just 5 tubers.
Let's hope that removing the diseased plants will improve the air flow and save the others from a similar fate!
Could be blackleg.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=223
Yeah, possibly. Either way, not much I can do, is there?
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My first thought would be Blackleg too.
I had to pull several plants a few years ago, the remaining plants remained healthy. Hopefully yours will too.
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The other plants look okay, so fingers crossed.
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had some Casablanca the weekend low yield but its been so dry here on the north Essex coast and the sandy soil I'm su rprised i got any good flavour took up all my rocket 2 weeks ago much better yield bigger pots tennis ball size got Sharpe's express next then Nadine then estima then main crop in sacks
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It's pretty dry even here.
I picked Belana, Abbot, Pentland J. and Elisabeth at the weekend, all pretty tasty. I'll post some pictures when I get them sorted.