Spring On The Allotment - First Sowings - Potatoes

Allotment Growing - First Early Potatoes

---

On thing that I have to remind myself of every Spring on the allotment is - be patient!

As the weather warms I am always tempted to get seeds in the ground as soon as possible - now!

I've learned from past experience that this does not always pay off. For example - for the last couple of years I've sown peas in early to mid March in the hope of an early crop. Only to be disappointed when they fail to germinate. Wait until April!

But - some things can go in the ground now. The topic of how early to sow potatoes is a common source of discussion on the allotment. I get my first earlies into the ground in early March if the weather is reasonably ok. Shoots won't emerge for a good three or four weeks - and can be earthed up in any case - and so protected from any unexpected severe cold or frost.

This year I've had a change from my usual favourite variety Charlotte - and have put in Pentland Javelin. Into trenches, then back-filled with soil, a few handfuls of chicken manure fertiliser added and finally a layer of compost.

With luck they may be ready for a first harvest in late June.

---

Read more ......
Storing Potatoes

Visit my website - Allotment Growing
- for lots more information, growing tips and photos:
Allotment Growing

You might also enjoy:
Allotment With A Sea View - Facebook

Storing Potatoes

The Potato Harvest is coming in - and unlike last year I've got a really good yield.

So time to get them safely into storage - so that we can enjoy them over the coming weeks. Also - one of the reasons why I grow stuff - to save money - as we can cross spuds of the shopping list - hopefully until Christmas at the earliest.

The potential problem with potatoes is that they may sprout, turn green or rot in storage - so its worth taking a few steps to keep them in good condition.

Step 1 - get them dried out - preferably in full sunlight.

I lifted mine the evening before a day forecast to be hot and sunny - and was rewarded with a nice morning as predicted.

I spread the spuds out on a tray set out in the sunniest part of the garden and left them for a few hours.

Step 2 - remove any tubers that are damaged - either with "fork damage" - inevitable when lifting the crop - slug damage or anything else.

There is a danger that these will be susceptible to rot and spread this to their neighbours. Keep them for consumption in the next few days.

Step 3 - Transfer the potatoes to hessian sacks - then store somewhere dry and dark - mine are in the garage.

They should then store ok for a few months - but do keep checking the sacks regularly. If one potato starts to rot this can quickly spread to the others - potentially ruining a whole sackful.

Harvesting Potatoes

Potato harvest time has arrived - long awaited and anticipated since I started preparing the ground last October.

I planted two varieties this year - Charlotte First Early and Wilja Second Early. Chosen because they are two varieties that I like to eat and taste great. Also chosen because I wanted to avoid the worst ravages of potato blight by harvesting early - so I avoided maincrop varieties.



My plot and our allotment site as a whole seems to suffer badly from blight. I'm not sure why - we get plenty of wind - maybe its the damp Cornish weather.

I lifted the last of the Charlotte potatoes a couple of weeks go - so this week it was the Wilja. After looking really good for weeks they were struck by blight about 10 days ago - and it spread fast. I cut off all the foliage and binned it. Blighted potato haulms should not be composted as this risks spreading the disease and storing it up for next year.

I was really pleased with both the yield and the size of the spuds - enough to keep us supplied in the kitchen for several weeks. Also a surplus to share with our neighbours - which is something that I enjoy.

Two beds cleared - one more to go - then I can move on to preparing the beds for the next crop. Under my crop rotation system they will be sown with peas and beans - starting with Broad Beans sown in October.

Autumn Growing - Potatoes

Back in March I planted my seed potatoes out on the plot - Home Guard first earlies - and like everybody else looking forward to a lovely crop of new potatoes in June.

Then - again like everybody else - the awful weather caused poor growth - then blight - and a rubbish crop that fed us for about 2 meals.

I harvested what I could and cleared the plot. In August I noticed that a few plants had re-emerged - this is normal as its almost impossible to clear a bed entirely of potatoes. I decided to let them grow on a bit on the off chance that I might get a small second harvest. In September I did indeed get a few more of eatable size out - then sowed Mustard Green Manure ......