Chitting and chattering

7/2/2016

Paul:
This is my first attempt at a blog. I'm not sure how to structure it but hopefully it will get better as I carry on.

My wife Jean and I work our plot together (plot 4). Its February and at this time of year there isn't a great deal to do on the plot other than digging over the ground, clearing weeds and generally getting the site prepared for the coming season. Today was all about potatoes. Last week I prepared my seed potatoes by standing them in egg boxes in the hope that they will "chit" or sprout, ready for planting. The secret is to keep them quite cool. At the moment they are in our spare bedroom with the heating off but I am not sure that Jean is too impressed by that so I may move them into the greenhouse and protect them from frost with a bit of fleece.

I am digging trenches at the moment ready for the potatoes. We are having three rows this year, early and late crops. This year we are trying Arran Pilot and Cara. We haven't grown them before so watch this space. Today I finished the third trench and put in some leaf mould from our leaf bay together with some rather smelly chicken manure pellets and Blood Fish & Bone food for good measure. Normally I would put in cow manure but this year I thought I would try something different.

The weather was cold today but it didn't stop us from doing some work. Jean was road testing her new oscillating hoe and was very impressed with it. It gets deeper than a standard hoe, and because it has blades front and back, you can use it with a forward and backward action.

The cold weather is always a good excuse to get the kettle on and so we stopped for a cuppa and a chat with the plot holders who were around. The talk soon came around to Man U's abysmal performance last night in the European League in Denmark. The least said about that, the better.

I finished with a quick trip to the tip with a few buckets of debris and the plot is now looking pretty clear. All in all, we put in 2 hours work (including the tea) so it was a fairly useful morning.

6 Comments

Donty Mon link

3/3/2016 01:24:21 pm

Good blog. Do you keep all the eyes on the potato or rub off all but one or two?

Paul link

3/3/2016 01:34:32 pm

Hi Donty Mon, I don't bother to rub the eyes off. There are those that say rubbing isn't enough, you need to cut the surplus ones out with a knife because rubbing will allow the eyes to grow back. I just plant them as they are and hope for the best:-)

Phil

6/3/2016 10:14:02 am

I'm a virgin blogger too so make allowances.
Time is my problem so for the last 3 years I haven't bothered digging a trench for potatoes. I just make a hole and drop the potato in. I haven't noticed any change in yield. I am growing varieties Linda and Nicola for the second year. Good yields and they seem to be pretty resistant to most pests.

Paul link

6/3/2016 10:27:10 am

Thanks Phil. I haven't come across those varieties before. I will have a look at them. We have had problems with tiny slugs boring holes in the potatoes in the past, but a sprinkling of slug pellets at the time of planting seems to put paid to that. Not very organic but at least we get a good crop:-)

phil

7/3/2016 07:18:04 pm

Hi Paul. Handy hint re slug pellets. Put them in a jar on its' side and then the birds/frogs can't access them but they are still attracted and caught in the jar. Works for us in our garden.

Paul link

8/3/2016 02:37:54 pm

Good tip Phil. It's also a good idea to drop a few pellets in the hole when you plant the potatoes. It's definitely solved our problem now for the last 2 years.

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Chitting and chattering

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