Chris and Steve's Weblog - City Chickens » potatoes

Strawberries, Salad and New Potatoes

Chris — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:36:48 +0000

Once again I have brought home a large bowl of strawberries and a couple of massive butterhead lettuces. I also managed to get enough potatoes Sharps Express for a meal tonight. The potatoes have been slow to grow as we had a cold start to the season followed by a very long dry period. The tops are looking green, lush and healthy but few potatoes up to now which is bad news in one way but good news for my belly because I can’t resist freshly dug potatoes.

Allotment Pictures

Chris — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:10:27 +0000

Cabbage Greyhound; Onion Marathon; Cauliflower AYR

Chris — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:03:40 +0000

We spent a lovely few hours at the plot this morning and caught up on loads of jobs. We put in the last of the potatoes which were the second batch of Charlotte and British Queen.

We planted up the three courgette plants All Green Bush and put a polythene cover over until the plants are a bit hardier.

Into the brassica tunnel we put twenty five cabbage Greyhound plants, thirteen cauliflower All The Year Round and ten onion Marathon.

Onion – The regular consumption of onions has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure helping to prevent atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, and therefore reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Here’s a greyhound cabbage from last year

I had left a tray of runner bean plants White Lady in the fruit tunnel to harden off and I noticed that most of them had been eaten by something so I am putting another batch in today to try and catch up.

Potato Maris Piper

Chris — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:03:07 +0000

After torrential rain all day the sky cleared just long enough for us to pop to the plot and put in the main crop potatoes. We chose Maris Piper this year and the seed potatoes had been sitting on the window ledge on egg boxes to chit. They all had healthy green shoots and we had a bit of a disagreement about how to plant them. Rob is all for burying the whole thing and making a raised pyramid of soil over them whereas I say that the green shoots should be above the soil and earthed up as they grow. We decided to do a row each and see who wins. My thinking is that the seed potato has spent weeks of energy growing the shoots and that burying them would kill off the shoots and if the seed doesn’t have enough energy to do it all again it will die. The idea of burying is ok if the potato seed hasn’t been chitted. Time will reveal all.

The Maris Piper potato plant is tall, erect and with many stems. It has small light green glossy closed leaves and purple flowers. The potato is a good all rounder and can be used for all cooking methods.

Potatoes Vivaldi, Kestrel and Rocket

Chris — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:14:38 +0000

Rob put some more potatoes in today. Two rows of Kestrel, a second early, in the ground and two bags each of Vivaldi, a main crop and Rocket, a first early.

We built and planted up a new strawberry bed this morning. The plants were all from runners from our original plants so no cost involved. We shall have to think up a way to keep the pidgeons off but as we have twice as many plants again in the fruit tunnel I don’t think we shall be short of Strawberries come June.

In the lean to we have a row of raddish already pushing through the soil.

I put in some more peas in the brassica tunnel. They were the Hurst Green Shaft. I had already swished them in water for a few days and some of them were shooting. They should be ready to harvest in 12 weeks.

First Early Potato – Sharpes Express

Chris — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:12:35 +0000

We planted up two large bags of Sharpes Express potato today.

First Early Potato - A white skinned potato with pale lemon flesh. A good all-rounder with good flavour and texture that can be used for mash, chips or boiled for salads.

The Asparagus bed is now ready so all we need are the roots to arrive in the post.We haven’t even had a response to our order so far. Fingers crossed.

Seed Potatoes

Chris — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:00:52 +0000

I chose Focus to buy the seed potatoes this year and have limited my spending to £10. They look in good condition and I am pleased with the varieties I chose. I plan to chit them on the window ledge and plant from March to April in bags except for the main crop which will go in the ground. We should have a seccession of potatoes to last until late August. I am giving Rob the important task of labelling and planning the harvest.

Charlotte are salad potatoes which we have grown many times before and have always had a good harvest. They are good for salads, boiling and roasting and will store well. They are great dug up early as small potatoes but can be left in the ground to grow on a little too. I bought two bags of these. They should be ready to harvest in fourteen weeks from planting.

Sharps Express are a first early and are best boiled or steamed. They should be ready to harvest in ten weeks.

Rocket is another old favourite also for steaming and boiling. Approximately eleven weeks to harvest.

British Queen is a second early and are best roasted, mashed or used for chips. They should be ready in thirteen weeks.

Maris Piper is a versatile main crop also good for chips, mashing and roasting. They should be ready to dig in twenty weeks.

Cabbages, Kestrel Potatoes and Carrots Early Nantes

Chris — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:34:02 +0000

Rob came back from his friend Glynns house bearing gifts. He had given us ten cabbage plants and some chitted Kestrel potatoes. Rob lost no time in getting them into the ground and while he was at it sowed another row of carrots. Early Nantes this time. We have had good results with these before. The weather has been perfect too.

Kestrel are a second early potato variety and are usually ready to harvest from mid-July onwards. They may be dug as new potatoesÂ but are equally successful as storing potatoes.

Potatoes Majestic and Swift

Chris — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:04:26 +0000

Rob had spent almost the whole day at the allotment while I stayed here and had a visit from the family. He has planted some more potatoes which we bought from Focus. Two bags of Majestic , which are a new variety to us and one bag of Swift which we had heard of but never grown before. He also got all the pea shoots in which must have taken an age as there were loads.

Potato Swift is said to be among the fastest to mature. Short bushy habit makes it ideal in containers. Heavy crop of round smooth white fleshed tubers. Partial eelworm resistance. Easy to grow and the quickest to produce baby new potatoes.

Potato Majestic is a Maincrop and ideal for mashing, roasting or baking. Once the most popular variety of the 20th century. Reliable cropper in all soil types, producing long oval, white skinned and fleshed tubers which store well.

Potatoes Vivaldi and International Kidney

Chris — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:40:11 +0000

The remaining potatoes are in at last. It was a beautiful morning and though it was hard work we came home pleased that they were in the ground. Vivaldi and International Kidney are both favourites of ours that we have grown before. Most of our potatoes this year are either in bags or on plot 8 with only the last couple of rows over on plot 18. We had planned to put them all in bags this year but some of our bags seem to have disappeared. We put one row in the tunnel in the hope that they will come on a bit earlier. We had an audience for our hard graft as the Robin who we think is nesting in the hedge that grows alongside plot 18 was flitting about watching us.