Hiya All!
Just a post to let you know I received me Seed Salad Spuds from T&M this morning. ;D Hope this of help to those impatiently w8ting for their spuds to arrive! ;) Icing on the cake after finding my 2 lottie plots have been rotavated yesterday :D Just perusing me books to figure out how to store them until March!
Cheerio Folks!
Talk about early spuds!
This being T&M however - are you sure they're not the ones you ordered in 2003?!
Definitely early ! Ours are not normally delivered until the beginning of February ...
Derekthefox :D
Yeah, I've heard this is unusually efficient of T&M! :) Mind you, it was an order for a special offer that I put in through Grow Your Own magazine back in Sunny August. Maybe they don't want to upset the Editor, with people writing up complaining... ;)
By the way, I'd heartily recommend G.Y.O. to anyone, especially complete beginners like yours truly! A brilliant read, almost as good as the forums on A4A! :D
Dave
Great stuff Mutant!! I'm going to wait to get mine from the potato fair, just hope I don't get so distracted and carried away by going to my first one that I end up forgetting why I'm there.... ::)
Good idea going to the Potato Fair, UC P, though I decided to order my spuds from T&M back in August, as it's my first season as an allotmenteer. I'm going to Ryton Potato day as I'm a member of HDRA/ Garden Organic, so I can get in on the Saturday. I'm hoping they've got some Yukon Gold available on the day. :D Same as FB, I'm wondering how best to store the potatoes until I can plant them in Feb... ???
Reckon I'll put my spuds in paper lined trays in the shed under the table out of the light for now. Shallots are not a problem as I'm just waiting until Wednesday-Saturday to plant them depending on the weather. Can't wait to christen my plots!!!
yep
mine also turned up last week, I just opened the box had a group hug and then closed the box until next yr
Carl
(i just made sure they where comfortable and cool!)
Awww that's so sweet Carloso, strange but sweet... hope I'm doing the right thing Mutant, though imagine the one in Suffolk is a darn site smaller than Ryton, and i takes most of us Suffolk folk about a week after the event to realize there was one anyway.... ::) ;)
Hey Lottie! you going to the Alder Carr one in feb?
Well I would appreciate a little one, but Ryton gives the impression of being like cup final day at Wembley ...
Not my cup of tea arggghhh
Derekthefox :D
Mine arrive this morning. The kids were all excited, but soon walked off disinterested when mummy got all excited about little bags of potatos! ;D
Got mine from HDRA/G***** O****** just now. Who cares about the calendar The real New Year starts here! :) :) :) :)
Yes Emma, not exciting stuff for little ones. As long as they dont decide to peel them for you as a treat ... :o
Derekthefox :D
I would store them as they came in their cardboard box or in paper sack in frost proof place...
But be careful if they came in them netting bag things .would'nt leave them in em too long. They are ok for now but as weather warms up check them and see if they have started chitting, If left in them too long the chits grow through bag and You break the shoots off getting them out of the netting bags... Jim
Where have all you peeps who's spuds have arrived ordered them from? I wasn't expecting mine from King's via lotty assoc to turn up til February
Our allotment association gets our from a local supplier Wardy, and they come in February too ...
Derekthefox :D
I don't think I'd want em too early. We got frost up here in the first week of June :(
The note in my box says to lay them out in a dark place first until they sprout, then put them into the light...
Never bothered with the dark phase before...do you?
Nor me, I didnt think it made any difference ...
Derekthefox :D
But what of montys experiment where he got better results not chitting? Is this called trolling?
MikeB
QuoteNor me, I didnt think it made any difference ...
I'm not sure our shack...sorry lovely home...runs to an adequate cool, dark, dry place anyway...
I troll...do I troll? Never chitted anyway....should I have said that? Erm Agapanthus, I could be....I know I'm going to the only one in Suffolk, so if it's that one, then yes, a very definte yes....I think...
Surely the issue of chitting is more to do with preventing damage to the tubers. ie they are going to sprout eventually anyway, and the idea is not to damage the sprouts, so by chitting they are brought to a controlled stage. Planting earlier may lead to rotting ...
This is just an observation, but that may explain why success without chitting is effective, if the ground and other conditions are right, then the sprouting all occurs as nature intended ...
Derekthefox :D
I always put mine in egg trays  one to each compartment under bench about late Feb .then when they have started chitting(shooting)  I put trays on top of bench ..Let shoots grow on a bit ..Then rub off all but 4 or 5 shoots which are left  on blunt  end of tattie ..Then set em this end up... Â
I think maybe you know then where they are going to pop up in row so it keeps em tidy and they are easier to earth  up . My Grandad learned me this way many many moons ago I have done it ever since .Whether it makes any difference to spuds You get I dont know ..Mine always seem to be ok ..cheers ..Jim
Growmore Have egg tray at the ready :)
Yes I use egg trays too, but straight into the light. And I do agree about the netting bag and the sprouts getting tangled up - happened to me first time!
Straight into the light in egg trays if I have them or large flat veg boxes if I don't. I did nor rub any eyes off either and they seemed to do OK. Might try rubbing a few off this year to see if it makes a difference.
MikeB, the less said about Monty's flawed experiment the better.
If You are going to rub some spruts off here is how my grandad explained it to me .. :)
Look at thee seed tatty lad...Tha'll see ar it looks like a pig (I said yes even though at first I couldnt see it) The fat ends it's a*se and the thin ends it 's snout ...Tha allus works with seed tatties ar*e upwards ..rub spruts off its snout and leave 4 on its ar*e... and remember when tha sets em in ground stick its snout in floor and it's ar*e in air......Think i was about 8 at time ...jim
QuoteLook at thee seed tatty lad...Tha'll see ar it looks like a pig (I said yes even though at first I couldnt see it) The fat ends it's a*se and the thin ends it 's snout ...Tha allus works with seed tatties ar*e upwards ..rub spruts off its snout and leave 4 on its ar*e... and remember when tha sets em in ground stick its snout in floor and it's ar*e in air......Think i was about 8 at time ..
Jim, that's a belter...
Superb Jim!
Ours came today - Organic Catalogue.
Don't know about Monty but, surely, they'll sprout whatever you do, light or dark, when they are good & ready? How would you stop them?? Giving them light at least means that you get sturdy sprouts.
I usually plant whole potatoes, but sometimes I cut them in two if I'm short. They seem to come up just the same. I've never rubbed off sprouts; what's the idea of doing that?
I always buy mine from my horticultural club and never go looking for them before end of January - then I 'sit' them in egg boxes (one to each hole) fattest end upwards on my window sills (no-where else to put them) and plant out with all shoots, never rub any off.....H.P.
I'll go along with Growmore's grandad :)
I'll second that Wardy. ;D
In this month's "Grow Your Own" Magazine (http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk) it says that Alan Romans doesn't believe in chitting potatos with loads of shoots. He says
"chitting is known in the trade as `premature aging` and while it might speed things up in the beginning it will also speed things up at the other end - in other words your potatoes will age quicker and stop producing earlier. Alan's tip is to encourage just one chit, snipping off all the side shoots. If you do this, fewer but larger, tuber will be produced. If the you leave the tubers with all the shoots sprouted and plant them on their sides, more numerous but smaller shoots will result."
I've no axe to grind either way so I'm going to do half and half, chitted and unchitted and see what happens. :P
Alan Romans is going to be the keynote speaker at the HDRA/ Garden Organic Potato Day at Ryton, so I guess he must know what he's about, though it looks like Growmore's Granddad got there years before! :D Words of wisdom indeed. ;)
As people may have guessed, I'm a great fan of GYO, though I done have any shares in it, honest guv! :P
I prefer Kitchen Garden to GYO :)
Well I think I am left no further forward now, so what am I going to do? Probably just plant them as I have always done ...
Derekthefox
Quote from: wardy on December 23, 2005, 08:28:37
I prefer Kitchen Garden to GYO :)
I've not seen that one. I'll have to have a look in WH Smiths and buy one to see what it's like. Cheers, Wardy! ;)
Dave
Well, if I'm confused, Derek, I like to bring everyone down to my level. Only fair... ;)
Or my level?
http://whttp://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0204/chitting_potatoes.asp
I always thought that potatoes would sprout whatever - & that they (earlies) were normally ready when it was nearly timely to plant them? Too soon & you have a problem with frost? Funny that some of the best sources say dark, some say light!! If you wait until planting time, will they not have sprouted?
For later crops, it matters not.
Hurrah....mine arrived from Alan Romans this morning. I've taken them out of their nets (as instructed) and placed them im a cool dark place (my cellar0 for now...does seem very early for delivery but I'm sure AR knows his tatties so am happy to follow his directions
I'm off now to make my Christmas flapjack and put another load in the washing machine!...MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
Plottie
Kitchen Garden is all about food production and cooking whereas GYO is about smallholding and chooks etc. KG does have a monthly column about chickens though. GYO is a bit posh aye faynd ;D
Oh well, GYO suits me down to the ground then, one being a cut above the rest, what? Now where did that dratted monocle get to...
Believe that and you'll believe anything ::) ;D
Ey up Mute! Have a gleg at KG mag I think you'll like it. It's less posh than the other one. I mean £700 eglus what's that abaart?
Merry Chitting what!
Wardy ;D
I have not read either so I cannot comment. I have never really been one for magazines ...
Derekthefox
Quote from: FB on December 22, 2005, 21:13:40
Robert
The RHS Encyclopedia says ' for large early potatoes leave only 3 sprouts per plant rubbing off the others.'Â Â Â Â Â It does then say ' Otherwise the more sprouts per tuber the higher the yield.
Who wants large earlies - the small ones have the best flavour.
There is no general rule about whether or not to rub out shoots but the RHS book is correct - the smaller the number of of shoots the smaller the number of tubers and the larger they will be be.
I grow around 30 varieties and don't rub out any shoots, neither does my friend who grows over 300 and together we won an RHS Gold medal for our display.
The "dark" bit doesn't seem like a good idea as when they start to sprout (the time varies from variety to variety) they need light or will prodcue spindly sprouts. So unless you check them every day put them in a cool well lit place and watch out for aphids - spray with soft soap solution if you see any!
Phil
Is it just me who finds a cool, frost-free, light, dry place quite hard to find around their home?
No. I do. I tend to use the end of our shared passage as it has a window above it but I have to watch for damp under the door.
Quote from: terrace max on December 30, 2005, 19:56:03
Is it just me who finds a cool, frost-free, light, dry place quite hard to find around their home?
TM,
No one said gardening was easy!! ;)
Phil
Try turning the heating off in the kids bedroom?