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Potatoes, Preparation

Potatoes and precipitation: aloo sinking

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For weeks now, fe sacks of spuds have been looking at me. Urging me to plant them. With Easter later than expected, I’ve verb counting down towards an appropriate dry window. I may have also overestimated how many spuds I might want to sink given the space that I have.

Finding The Artist in Residence-remember him, he sunk bulbs last year-saw to making a start in this task. There are quite a few varieties of potatoes. Today, we sunk red duke of York and lady Balfour. All very old money aristocratic on the plot. I forget now when these will come up.

As you can see, The Artist in residence has a fabulous technique of digging potato trenches. Armed with the magic spade-to me it’s magic, to him “a spades a spade.” Yes he said that- trenches were dug and spuds dropped. The Artist In Residence all too amused by then ‘tentacles’ and very discerning in sinking those spuds he thought were decent. They were all going to go in, regardless.

There had been an ambitious plan to get potatoes planted. Didn’t get as far as kestrel, international kidney; with Maris piper and king Edwards waiting in the wings. We were thwarted by rain drops falling, a bit of wind and thunder in the distance. I had just started to dig a trench for another bag of spuds, and the last one for lady balfours was hurriedly covered over. We’ve established that I can’t really make mounds properly. And if it keeps raining, low chance of spuds. Really don’t know where I am going to put the rest. One part of the plot was still too sticky and had yet to be turned over on preparation.

But a start nonetheless.>

Potatoes

potato plotting and preponderance

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potatoes

 

With the ‘lotment plot currently squelchy and for the some part underwater, it is bitter sweet to have potatoes waiting in the wings. This week, the ‘lotment secretary kindly popped around with some of the potatoes to be sunk this year. I had forgotten that I had also ordered King Edwards and Maris Piper from another source. In addition to this, I am expecting maris peer for later on in the year.

Selected for this year we have:

  • lady balfour
  • Kestrel
  • Red Duke of york
  • International Kidney-then name makes me laugh
  • King Edward
  • Maris Piper
  • and for Kismet….maris peer

For me, that looks like a lot of potatoes. And I don’t have that much space, digging is not my favourite task either. Last year, there were three raised beds of potatoes. This worked quite well, with spuds planted in poop. The issues that arose were slug damage, and that meant we lost out on proper potato fleshiness. This year, decisions will have to be made as to where the spuds are sunk with the bulb planter. As i say. digging, is not my favourite thing to do, especially with heavy clay. The options are open ground, carefully selecting where as some parts get more flooded than other. Or in raised beds, with leaf mold as the beds need re-filling.

At the moment, it is raining and its windy; so the worry is that thatt the plot may not necessarily be as dry as it should be by the time potatoes need to be sunk. The other issue, is to chit or not to chit. I have chitted once before, and the entire crop died a death due to the rain. Last year, the spuds were left in an a box and self chitted producing long tendril like sprouts. These were removed before the spuds were sunk. This year, I don;t think I will chit. I simply don’t have the room, ma would not be happy about spuds littering the house.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed about the rain get less and the ground drying out.