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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Mar 17, 2016 12:54:12 GMT
What varieties of potato are folk planting this year? And when do you think is the right time to put them in the ground?
I will only be doing two 4 metre rows, one of Charlotte that I do every year and one of Stemster which I have never grown. I bought them at the Edible Garden Show having asked for a trouble free main crop. I did Sarpo Mira last year that were reliable and huge but they didn't have an sarpo at the show.
They have only been chitting for a week and I am thinking it is still too cold and wet. My plan will be to put them in the ground around mid April.
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Post by murrayc on Mar 17, 2016 14:51:40 GMT
What varieties of potato are folk planting this year? And when do you think is the right time to put them in the ground? I will only be doing two 4 metre rows, one of Charlotte that I do every year and one of Stemster which I have never grown. I bought them at the Edible Garden Show having asked for a trouble free main crop. I did Sarpo Mira last year that were reliable and huge but they didn't have an sarpo at the show. They have only been chitting for a week and I am thinking it is still too cold and wet. My plan will be to put them in the ground around mid April. I'm glad you posted this , Stuart, as I've already spent several hours digging during this sunny but very cold week in an attempt to catch up on time lost and to get close to my normal target of St Paddy's day for outside planting - I already have Lady Christl first earlies planted at home in tubs and under cover. I will be planting Kestrel as my main crop. They are a very good all-rounder; a purplish and firm-fleshed potato that can be lifted from Late July onwards, tastes well boiled, but has been the only potato we have eaten this winter that has roasted well. I think that a lot of supermarket potatoes, of all varieties, found last summer too wet to develop to their full extent, and most of them, King Edward's and Desiree included, have turned to mush inside. I'm also planting samples - about 8 tubers each - of three Sarpo varieties: Axona (maincrop), Blue Danube (early maincrop and interestingly coloured), and Kifli, a salad potato which the Sarpo site recommends as ideal for raised beds and containers - in case you want to take a little punt Stuart! I've grown Sarpo MiIra before and been very impressed with them. The ground is drying out very nicely now, those biting winds have helped to dry out the clods and enough goodness has leached in from the autumn manuring. Two years ago Pat and I planted in early April when it was snowing, not an experience either of us wishes to repeat, and the crop was excellent.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Mar 17, 2016 15:10:02 GMT
Yes the soil was breaking up nicely last weekend. I'm glad you are doing some sarpo as it would be good to see what happens if we get blight proper this year. I did the sarpo mira last year but then there didn't seems to be much if any blight about. Well not at the time I'd dug all mine up anyway. The one issue I had with the sarpo was the skins were very scabby. Not sure if that was just my failure to look after them properly. On the other hand they were huge, the largest the size of bricks.
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bridgey
Clearing the weeds
Posts: 60
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Post by bridgey on Mar 26, 2016 19:49:33 GMT
Being old and a bit set in my ways I stick to the old ones, Like duke of York for earlies,Arron pilot as my second early And Desiree for main crop. I have found that these have the taste that has been lost in A lot of the newer varieties. Well for me and my wife they have. So its a matter of taste I suppose.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Mar 27, 2016 7:28:05 GMT
If I had a bit more space I'd do some other varieties. Nothing wrong with the reliable old varieties. If I am honest I haven't yet got the taste thing with potatoes. So many people say growing your own taste so much better and that certain varieties taste better than others. I dont think I'd be able to tell the difference once they are peeled and cooked. Maybe I'm just not very good at growing them yet? What is your regime for feeding them Bridgey? Mine are going in a bed that had a lot of manure last year (it had the rhubarb in). I took out the rhubarb and dug it over and have been working it down and it is almost ready for planting. I was going to now either add blood fish and bone or growmore (pound a box from poundland) and rake that in the surface. Give it a couple of weeks then dig the trenches and I have a tub of that 6X fertiliser which is apparently like rocket fuel? So I was going to put some of that in the bottom of the trench. What do you think to that plan? (be gentle) and then would you feed again with say blood fish and bone or chicken manure or something like that when the tops are established?
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Post by murrayc on Apr 10, 2016 8:21:09 GMT
A bright morning here at home after a heavy frost last night and I'm glad I placed the polucarbonate sheets over the pots containing my Lady Christls. Planted on February 28th, and now showing through up to about 10 inches up their pots - actually cut-offs from industrial drain piping. I have earthed up once already and will now do so right to the top of the containers. Once they come through that I usually reckon that the plant is tough enough to cope with the weather and don't try to cover them any more. Last year I was cropping them from around 10th June and hoipe for the same this summer. Elsewhere I have repaired the walk-in greenhouse that storm Katie destabilised, and resown all the seedlings that she caused to tip out onto the floor as the frame lurched forward onto the staging. Early days yet, but I keep reminding myself that the ground is not warm enough for many of these just yet and content myself with starting something off every day. Off to the plot in a few minutes to churn some mud and perhaps start a couple of beds.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Apr 10, 2016 11:39:17 GMT
I planted my potatoes yesterday. Two rows of 4m. One of Charlotte. One of Stemster. I put a handful of 6X in each planting hole. Last week I raked some BF&B into the soil. I have never given my potatoes a better start in life so they better perform for me.
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Post by murrayc on Apr 10, 2016 12:19:54 GMT
Looks impressive Stuart. I have been very disappointed with Charlottes the last couple of years. It seems as if the strain has changed and they are no longer the firm-fleshed staple of a few years ago. I'll be interested to see how yours turn out - and will happily give you a sample of my Lady Christl when they are ready.
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Post by wilbarra on Apr 10, 2016 13:05:01 GMT
I ALWAYS DIG THE TRENCH OUT (THIS YEAR I HAVE FOUR THIRTY FOOT ROWS)THEN FILL THE TRENCHES UP WITH MANURE. PUT THE SEED POTATOES STRAIGHT INTO THE MANURE. THEN COVER WITH ABOUT AN INCH OF SOIL,ON TOP OF THE SOIL I SPRINKLE GROWMORE AND THEN A SPRINKLING OF SULPHATE OF POTASH. THEN COVER WITH THE REST OF THE SOIL,LEAVING JUST A TINY RIDGE SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE ROWS ARE. I ONLY GROW ARRAN PILOT AS THEY ARE STILL,TO MY MIND, THE MOST RELIABLE AND THE BEST TASTING, ALSO THEY WILL STAY IN THE GROUND AND GROW ON AS A MAIN CROP WITHOUT GETTING THAT EARTHY TASTE THAT A LOT OF THE MODERN VARIETY OF EARLIES DO IF THEY ARE LEFT IN THE GROUND TOO LONG. DOING THEM THIS WAY THEY COME UP A LOT CLEANER WHEN YOU COME TO DIG THEM UP. I USED TO USE GRASS CUTTINGS IN THE TRENCH IT DOES A BETTER JOB AT PRODUCING HEAT FOR THE GERMINATION OF THE SEED POTATO BUT YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL THAT THE CUTTINGS DO NOT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF WEEDKILLER IN IT AS BEING A VERY CLOSE RELATIVE OF THE TOMATO,LIKE THE TOMATO THE POTATO HAS ONLY GOT TO GET A WHIFF OF WEEDKILLER AND CURLS UP AND DIES. HAD A LOOK AT MINE THIS MORNING AND THEY ARE JUST BREAKING THROUGH.
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Post by murrayc on May 22, 2016 7:37:40 GMT
Disaster! So much for hubristic pride in my post above hhplots.freeforums.net/post/231/thread. Of the two long rows of kestrels I planted, one has come up fairly sparsely dotted with foliage, the other was showing almost nothing at all. For the past two weeks I have been hoping that this was just a freak occurence, that the next time I visted the plot there would be all those little grren clumps bursting through for the sunlight, beseeching me to earth them up. On Friday I took counsel from a sage and canny neighbour and tenatively forked down into the earth at the end of the row...and found a rotted, mouldering mush. The rest of the row was like that, where the mush had not completely disintegrated into the earth and I have had to dig up and dispose off-site of all the remains. The same is true of the half-rows of the Sarpo varieties - these never saw the light of day to wage war against pests. So what can be the explanation for this? Probably planting a little too deep, a little early, in a wet part of the patch just on the verge of some of the bitingly cold weather is a probable guess, though plenty of orther plotholders have planted not much later and their crops are looking good. Again, I recall a few years ago planting out in April in a snow storm - and they survived and produced abundantly. Next year I will definitely warm the soil before planting and , of possible cover it, on the example of my neighbour. At least now I have a window of opportunity: a nice lot of space to plant other crops!
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Post by wilbarra on May 22, 2016 10:43:47 GMT
DONT WANT TO RUB SALT INTO THE WOUND BUT WE SAT DOWN LAST NIGHT TO A MEAL WHERE PRIDE OF PLACE WENT TO THE NEW POTATOES SITTING SERENLY ON THE PLATE, DUG THAT DAY FROM THE PLOT. DELICIOUS THEY WERE TOO. I DO THINK THAT WHEN WE HAVE A WET AND COLD SPRING PUTTING MANURE IN THE ACTUAL TRENCH PREVENTS THE SEED TUBER FROM ROTTING BECAUSE IT IS KEPT NICE AND WARM AND IS ABLE TO GET AWAY A LOT QUICKER. ALSO COVERING THEM WITH A POLYTHENE SHEET HAS BEEN THE KEY THIS YEAR IN GETTING THEM GERMINATING AND GROWING QUICKLY. BUT THE REWARDS HAVE BEEN WELL WORTH THE EXTRA WORK PUT IN. IN YOUR CASE, MURRAY,WHY DONT YOU GET A REAL QUICK GROWER LIKE ROCKET, YOU CAN GET THEM FOR NEXT TO NOTHING AT THE MOMENT,ITS STILL TIME TO GET A CROP. THEY WILL GERMINATE VERY QUICKLY AND WILL SOON CATCH UP ON A LOT OF THE OTHER VARIETIES PLOT HOLDERS ARE GROWING AROUND YOU. YOU COULD GROW THEM IN A LITTLE SQUARE AND COVER THEM WITH POLYTHENE. I HAVE SOME SPARE POLYTHENE IF YOU WANT TO BORROW SOME.
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