Netherfield

potato varieities production or vareity

That story reminds me of a post on the old BBC site, methinks jon cob maybe related to ' Grid Gardener' or other nom de plume.

Plum Trees - Czar

I've done ours like this for the last ten years without any problem,on top of which Joe Maiden was on the Radio last week telling people to do the same.

Plum Trees - Czar

Cut back side shoots to half their length, remove anything growing inwards and any crossing branches or shoots, then any height above which you can easily  reach to pick fruit from.

Latest thinking is that there is no need to treat any cut ends anymore.

When the fruit appears next year you can cut back any growth  2 to 3 leaves after the the last fruit.

spuds

I grow every year:-

First early   ' Sharpes Express'  

Second early 'Charlotte' and 'Kestrel'(can also be left as a maincrop and makes good Jackets)

Early Main 'Juliette'

Maincrop 'King Edward' (multi purpose but makes good roast and chips)

And then always try one or two other first earlies,but have not found any to beat Sharpes for flavour.

It could be said that everyone likes something to their own taste,this selection it to our taste, and that certain soil types grow certain varieties better than others.

As stated above try find just a few of a few varieties and see what suits you best.

The best multi purpose compost this year

At one time I would have sworn by 'Humax' it was made by a relatively small firm in Cumbria, now been taken over ,and the name seems to have disappeared from around here.

The co-op was selling some compost from Ireland last year, which I found very good,this year not selling anything,maybe it was a one off deal they did, or only available at the very large stores.

Harvesting potatoes

I would certainly chop off any haulm that is left standing because it sounds like 'blight',the spuds are not going to grow any more.

As to digging up the whole crop depends on if they have suffered from the blight, try digging a few and if they are sound you could leave the rest for a week or two for the skins to set.

Whatever don't compost the haulm,and any potatoes you store need checking weekly in case you have missed a bad one which will quickly spread to any others it is touching. I check about 4 weeks before being satisfied they will keep.

Potato's again!

Keep topping up to the top of the bag,you can feed with a high potash fertiliser,i.e. tomato feed or one of the potato fertilisers available.

Towards the end of october there is not enough light left to photosynthesise so you can chop off the haulm and leave the spuds in the bags until Christmas, at this point it's a good idea to bring the bags inside of a shed,garage or cold greenhouse to keep the frost away from them.

On the gardening programme on Radio Leeds Sunday morning it was said it's now getting too late for Christmas spuds, again due to lack of light.

Strange Baubles on Potato Plant

It won't do any harm if you cut them off,the plant is better off producing potatoes instead of seed.

Potatoes

Sounds like common scab, certain varieties are prone to it, although weather and lime can be to blame.

It does not affect the eating quality, just scrape or peel the skin and the flesh underneath should be fine.

Carrots have feelings too

 Couldn't get too excited by it all.

Potatoes