Allotments 4 All

With earlies, the tubers can be edible before the flowers show. So - wait till the haulms are good & tall, & then go in with your fingers.

Thanks Tim  ;D

Thanks for the all the pictures and information, Tim.

I don't know whether it's too late or not, but I comandeered an old holed plastic dustbin over the weekend, and shoved some fertilizer and compost down it...

Five, very bemused, Lady Balfours now sitting pretty way... down... below...

Never too late, but don't you have room in the garden?

Being second earlies, no rush. Ours aren't in the ground yet.

I think there's been a mad rush of folks going out buying seed spuds over the weekend and now there are none left  :(  I've been all over this morning trying to buy a few more to put in tubs and a broken washbasket.  I'll have to wait til the weekend as see what the lotty association have got  :)

Er... being a novice at all this, I made a bit of a potato purchase blunder a few weeks ago  :(.  Should have done some reading first.

No first earlies, and rather too much of the rest. Groan... 

On the bright side, I should have sackfuls of salad potatoes. 

Next year I think I'll  try and find a 'potato day' somewhere near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Much simpler, more choice, buy in little numbers.

I managed to get more seed spuds today as I was driving about.  Went past a place I'd never even noticed and they had a sign outside.  They had lots of varieties I'd never heard of so I plumped for Cara.  I forgot my glasses so couldn't read the blurb.  I wanted some to put into tubs etc in case all mine on the plot get eaten by slugs

I have a well-thumbed copy of Alan Roman's guide to seed potatoes: it's a huge outlay of £1.25 from T&M (though I picked up mine at a potato day) and well worth it for his comments on the characteristics of dozens of varieties. If nothing else, it allows you to pick the types you like (flour or wax) and not waste cash on ones you won't eat.

http://potatoes.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/z13036/1

moonbells

Or for a free on line resource that has more varieties than you could ever find:

http://www.europotato.org/

Maybe not so user friendly but a wealth of information.

Jerry

Turn your back &.............................

Wow Tim - but what happened to its neighbour??

Debs

Moonbells & Jerry - thanks for the links. The booklet is already ordered, and as for the database... good grief, more spuds than you could mash in a lifetime.

Reading galore,
soon to be a potato novice,
no more...

Debs - they went in over a month later.

Blimey Tim, they are very well on....when do you expect them to be ready?

Thought this page might be helpful, it also shows an additional method of container grown potatoes:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/POT1.HTML

Mothy - the 'book' says 13 weeks. So - 3 May?

Wardy - Cara's, a great potato but, being a maincrop, might be a bit big for tubs? Possibly one per tub??

Tim     I've put them in tubs and big compost bags etc as well as some in a no dig bed.  I have even put one in a broken laundry basket.   I can't wait to compare how they get on, ie     beds v containers  :)

Quote from: Gadfium on April 06, 2005, 15:08:30
Next year I think I'll  try and find a 'potato day' somewhere near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Much simpler, more choice, buy in little numbers.

A wise choice, Durham Organic Gardeners ran 2 this year in Middlesborough and Bowham. I'll have details later in the year on http://www.hhdra.org.uk/potato.htm#days

Phil

Quote from: sandersj89 on April 06, 2005, 23:17:11
Or for a free on line resource that has more varieties than you could ever find:

http://www.europotato.org/

Maybe not so user friendly but a wealth of information.

Jerry

For much more information than you find in Alan Romans' book, and pictures, look at the following sites

For UK varieties, see http://www.potato.org.uk/seedSearch.asp?sec=446&con=458 -  type an initial letter in the "variety" window to see those listed
For similar on French varieties (lots coming into garden centres but generally not in Alan's book) see http://www.plantdepommedeterre.org/eng/mainvar.asp
For Dutch varieties( again many not in the book) see http://www.aardappelpagina.nl/index.html?pag=91

For National Institute of Agricultural Botany trials results (the ones Alan Rommans uses to put the figures for each variety see:
1st Earlies http://www.potato.org.uk/docs/pdf/seedHandbook/firstear.pdf
2nd Earlies and Maincrop http://www.potato.org.uk/docs/pdf/seedHandbook/secondea.pdf

Who needs to spend £1.25??

Phil

omg! i dont remember potatoes getting this tall. will have to think of supports for my two rows for the future...

svea