Category: The Potato Diaries

24th January

Seed potatoes are already appearing in garden centres now the Christmas decorations have finally been removed.

With my new allotment bed now available for the coming year, I have decided to plant early potatoes – Swift for preference – in containers at home, and main-crop potatoes – Desiree once more – at the allotment, where I have room for sixteen plants using the Square Foot gardening technique. I don’t think I’ll bother with second earlies this year.

Swift are on the left and Desiree on the right.  I ‘rescued’ this polystyrene tray from the packaging on the top of my new washing machine and thought it would be ideal for chitting the potatoes.  Continue reading “The Potato Diaries: 2020 – January to May” →

 

August 

In this post, I mentioned that I’d seen a post about planting potatoes to grow for Christmas.  I planted up three potato bags, with three tubers in each, using the compost remaining in my old green compost bin – 4 inches below and 4 inches above. I gave the bags a good soaking after placing them on the shady patio.

I slowly worked my way through the pots of summer potatoes, so once the area by the oil tank was empty, the bags went there until the weather cools, then into the greenhouse. Continue reading “The (Final) Potato Diaries of 2019” →

While we are still working our way through the pots of Swift first early potatoes (we’ve eaten the potatoes from two pots, have one nearly empty, and one not touched), with Nicola (one pot) and Desiree (two pots) to follow, thoughts turn to planting up some bags so we have new potatoes for Christmas.

               Swift                                                 Desiree

I hadn’t thought of doing this (or that it was possible) until I read a post dated 7 August by Karen at Bramble Garden.  Thanks for the tip!

Varieties available today at my local garden centre are Nicola, Pentland Javelin, Matis Peer and Charlotte.  I decided to try Charlotte.

At £2.99 for 9 tubers (around 33p each), I thought that was good value, even if the crop isn’t large. I can’t see me harvesting them in November though!!

The image on the right suggests 3 tubers per potato bag, and I still have compost in my old green compost bin, plus topsoil from my shady border; and I’ll have room in my greenhouse – though maybe I’ll use old bubble-wrap or other insulation around the outside of the pots – and I’ll stand them in cat-litter trays (unused by cats) for watering.

8th June

After a week’s holiday, I came back to this – every pot is overflowing with foliage.  I wonder if there is some way I can extend the height of each pot so that I can add more compost?

Continue reading “The Potato Diaries” →

After several very hot days, and with the promise of a shower or two (meaning NO FROST), I have planted up my potatoes in pots – after first removing the temporary herb garden to its permanent home. Continue reading “The Potato Diaries” →

The the start of March, I spent a happy forty minutes discussing vegetable planting plans with my hairdresser; talk turned to potatoes and how (and where) to plant them. Continue reading “The Potato Diaries” →