Post by murrayc on Jan 20, 2016 15:24:49 GMT
On a bitterly cold but sunny day, as this one is, there is something really invigorating and genuinely hopeful in setting out seed potatoes to chit. There is the pleasure of handling them, turning them over to find the side that has the best outcrop of little sprouts and then nesting it gently in a container - I use the big egg trays - to place on a windowsill where they can be turned and develop over the next 6 to 8 weeks. I have a conservatory with fairly broad window sills and can store quite a few trays here, but today I've begun with two trays of first earlies.
These are Lady Christl, which have quite firm flesh and are absolutely delicious. Last year I grew them in tubs at home, in 12 inch deep off-cuts from industrial drainage piping, also 12 inches in diameter. I use a mixture of manure and grow-bag soil, topping up with the latter when the haulms start to break the surface. Last year I planted them on 28th February and was eating them at the beginning of June. I planted two, or at the most three tubers to each tub and from 9 tubs I had a yield of just over 22 kilos.
I've taken delivery of other, later cropping potatoes, including some of the Sarpa disease-resistant strains which I will grow as an experiment. My main crop will be Kestrel, which I will plant out in the allotment in mid March, all being well. Last year it proved the hardiest and kept well, providing us with a few roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
It would be good to hear from other plot-holders what potatoes they will be growing this year, and to compare notes on times and yields on this thread. As always, it would be nice to hear from trickymickey what the folks in Vale Road are doing, and of course to hear from anyone in Oathall or Summerhill.
I've taken delivery of other, later cropping potatoes, including some of the Sarpa disease-resistant strains which I will grow as an experiment. My main crop will be Kestrel, which I will plant out in the allotment in mid March, all being well. Last year it proved the hardiest and kept well, providing us with a few roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
It would be good to hear from other plot-holders what potatoes they will be growing this year, and to compare notes on times and yields on this thread. As always, it would be nice to hear from trickymickey what the folks in Vale Road are doing, and of course to hear from anyone in Oathall or Summerhill.