Tag Archives: spuds

Every kind of weather to make what August’s about, yeah

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Well it’s been a weird few days, we’ve had a welcome bit of rain, then the sun returned back to “classic lockdown mode” and earlier today it was back to greyness. We’re confused, what month is it again? Well the sunflower’s out, it may not be of the giant variety but it’s great in that Fibonacci sequence style!

We did manage to do some gardening over the last few days. We dried out some of our broad beans earlier this year and we’ve stuck three small rows of them at the bottom of the garden. We don’t know if they’ll sprout but we gave it a go!

A few years ago we bought a dwarf blackberry/bramble bush and didn’t really have much luck with it and even moved it around a bit which probably don’t help matters. The last year or so we’ve left it in its present position and now it’s starting to fruit. There isn’t much there but a few blackberries are better than none!

In front of that dwarf bramble are the raised beds that we put together around the start of lockdown. In them next to the tomatoes and spuds there’s some pepper plants with fruit on them. They are out of the way and water is of the sparse variety unless we remember. We’ve given them some regular doses of comfrey liquid and a few of peppers on the plants are starting to get a little larger.

Just next to those peppers out of view is a cabbage that has been beheaded by them pesky pigeons. You win some you lose some. Well at least we’ll be having some nicer weather (supposedly) this weekend.

A big shout to Gerry Hectic for alerting us to this great track below from King Knut called “Spellbound”. Very Dub Disco band for the love of money, dubbed out weirdness and old cassettes of the Rhythm Doctor on Fantasy FM in the early 90’s. It’s a nice tune!

About the weather (in June)

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Weatherwise it hasn’t been the best week this week but tonight looks like it may be taking a turn for the better as we had a little bit of warmth and even a hint of the sun an hour ago. It was nice to be out there.

The raised beds (below) have been doing great, there’s all sorts of stuff in them, spuds, carrots, beetroot, cabbages, tomatoes and even peppers. Talk about square metre gardening and sticking in as much as possible! They’ve come on a long way since that first week of lockdown when the local shop had the 3 spuds per person rule that made us think that we must obtain some seed spuds and any packs of seeds we could get our hands on.Now we’re off the furlough we’re only spending the lunchhour and after work gardening and much of the big work was done when we were off. Once you get a good headstart on yourself, gardening gets a lot easier but it’s getting that start. We managed to keep the bed on the right hand side (below) a lot tidier than usual and even stuck in some tomatoes, cabbages and spuds amongst the flowers. The comfrey we use daily, pulling off massive handfuls to stick in the compost heap and for putting in holes before we transplant something. That keeps the comfrey under control as it can swamp everything if it gets its way!

Something we forgot to do on most of the tomatoes was to pinch out the sideshoots of the variety we have, so the plant can put all it’s goodness into the trusses on the main stem. We’ve been through all of the plants now and there was only one that had two stems but that doesn’t matter, we’ll keep it as “an tomato experiment”. More on sideshooting tomatoes here.

And talk about best laid plans and all that, this bed below was supposedly going to be rested this year and was going to be full of the Thompson and Morgan wildflower seed mix. Well we sowed them at the back with the borage and we’ll see what happens. Can we now have the sun back please? It is June.

And here’s a wonderful piece of music to welcome the sun back when it does finally return from the great Blundetto called Paseo. Tune!

Earthbeat, earthbeat

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Yesterday we had some well needed rain but the dullness in the sky didn’t help spirits indoors. It’s still a but cold today but the sun is peeking out every now and again and we’ve been doing the same but with a hoe, knocking off any weeds etc.

We’ve been noticing that the spuds are starting to show through now so whilst we had the hoe in our hands we started piling just a small amount of soil around the growing tips of the potatoes to protect them from a late frost. Later on in the growing season we’ll carry on with this mounding up (AKA “Earthing up” ) which prevents any of the spuds close to the surface going green. More on “Earthing up” here.

And the seed potatoes that are growing under the black membrane which was used for under the decking are coming through too (we won’t need to earth them up but a little bit of soil can be put over the growing tips as frost protection). And even though us lot in lockdown are a bit fed up with the rain, at least the garden and the fish are loving it! #pondsnotdead #lockdowngardening

What did YOU do in your lunchtime during the great corona virus?

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In 60 minutes how much gardening can you really do especially when you got to wolf down some tuna pasta first and then wash the bowl?

We managed to tack some clear plastic sheeting onto the top of the two empty palettes that were sitting around waiting for compost which have now gone on top of the raised beds. We also put in two more spuds and brought out into the sunlight the seed trays that have some cabbages, tomatoes and peppers in them in an attempt to “harden them off”. Talk about the genre called “speed gardening”!

Never mind the proms

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An oldie but goodie from the great Chronixx over a  minimal 1990’s-like rhythm track that’s just been played over the soundsystem at the annual party and barbecue on the estate behind us tonight. shannons on a saturday_2It’s been said it’s good to talk to plants, well I hope the vegetables at the bottom of the garden are listening to the other good tunes being played at the party. Especially the seed onions and the spuds that I put in after an early morning visit to Shannon’s today.

The onions (Troy) will overwinter and  should be ready to harvest early summer and if all goes well weather permitting, the spuds will be ready for christmas, (but I am pushing it with the timescale!) The Iris’s went in the front garden and will be forgotten about until the spring, you bet come April I’ll say, “when did I put those bulbs in?”

It’s never too early for “earlies”

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It’s definitely that time again! I popped into Shannon’s today as I had a day off work and procured a small pack of first early seed potatoes, Pentland Javelin. Just like the last couple of years I’ve stuck my seed spuds in an egg box with the blunt end of the tuber upwards (the end that has the “eyes”) to give them a head start come the spring (aka “chitting”).Chitting 2015The process of “chitting” encourages the seeds to sprout before planting them outside. We’re not talking the long pale shoots that you see when potatoes have sprouted after being stored in the dark, but ones that are short and sturdy.

The important thing with “chitting” spuds is to make sure the container is in a cool position with natural light and where’s there’s no risk of frost. I’ve stuck mine next to the propagator on the floor in the back room by the patio doors.

A couple of years ago we were emailed a great tip from Shirley Calgary who said “Actually you do not need the whole potato – I have cut the potatoes in 2 or 3 pieces as long as you have a sprouted or sprouting eye you are all set.” Great stuff!

More on chitting here.propogator a week onAs for the propagator (post here), the seeds I put in last week have started to come through. How good is that? I know it’s early and I’ll be left with leggy tomato and pepper plants on the kitchen windowsill in the spring but why change a habit of a lifetime?

Can you handle it?

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Pound shops, don’t you just love ’em! Those plastic builder’s buckets with handles on they sell cheap have come up in conversation a couple of times this week funnily enough. My mate Will used one to scoop out the water from his kid’s bath to put on the garden thus foiling the hosepipe ban during last week’s mini heatwave. It’s funny, as today it was freezing cold and was tipping it down like there’s no tomorrow. Where’s that heatwave gone when you need it over the bank holiday weekend? Yesterday afternoon I was “tipping around with a hoe” with hot sun burning the back of me neck but today was soaked to the skin just walking down to the compost bin. What’s all that about?

A big ta to Edward for telling us his top tip last wednesday of drilling some drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic buckets and using them to grow spuds in. Using seed potatoes he has left over from the main plot he puts in one per bucket and then puts them in the greenhouse. If you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse you could put spuds in at varying times of the year thus elongating the cropping season. Bob Flowerdew mentioned he loves keeping some seed potatoes over so he can sow them indoors just after xmas so he’ll have new potatoes for Easter. Good idea eh? I haven’t got a greenhouse but the old window frame I found in the street that doubled as a cold frame has turned up trumps as the potato plant started early on in the year under it is flowering now so it won’t be long now till we have some new potatoes for dinner!

A few weeks ago I transferred the tumbling tomato plant that I got on the growing food in the city course at walworth garden farm to a hanging basket (alongside a lettuce and a nasturtium) on the wall which is doing great (see above). It gets lots of sun from early on and I give it a good water as and when it needs it (usually on a nightly basis!)

I found the hanging basket in a skip a year or so ago and it was in a right state but after bit of a wash and brush up and some wire wool on the chain, it’s looking good! It’s a bit overcrowded at the moment and as it’s only early in the season I’m sure I will be thinning out the thing but lets see what happens. I’ll be giving it a good feed weekly during the summer and lots of water so fingers crossed.

It’s two days of bank holidays now, what’s the odds of getting some good weather?

Read it in books

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The perfect plot (starting an allotment from scratch) – Kim Sayer – Simon & Schuster 2012

The other week I picked up this great book in Holborn Library. It’s a mine of information following an allotment in Devon from a germ of an idea, how it was set up (with advice on how to set one up yourself, getting grants etc) to how it is progressing now. Loads of information on the tools you need, soil cultivation, crop rotation, what to do season by season, pest control and interviews with everyone involved. A great read if you’ve just got an allotment, want to set one up or just want to grow stuff in your back garden. One of the main guys even uses the biodynamic method too, excellent!

Remember if you haven’t got the cash to spend on gardening books join your local library as it costs nowt (and don’t forget the web either) and if you work in a different town/borough join the one there too as that’ll give your more choice. I’ve library membership for three London boroughs and I don’t think you have to work or live in that borough to join one.

On Friday night I saw Goldie talking to Alan Titchmarsh on the telly at Chelsea about his love of Acers. I reckon he might be the next new breed of TV gardener with his tatt’s and gold teeth. What happened to the old percy thrower stereotype in their tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows wearing a clean shirt and tie while demonstrating “double digging”? Times are a changing indeed!

I’ve just noticed some flower buds forming on the super early spuds (below) that were originally started off on the homemade cold frame which are now flying ahead! The ones I put in a month or so ago are starting to get going now as well. Spuds I love em!

Jobs done this week: Weeding (just knock them off with a sharp hoe and leave them to shrivel up in this hot weather), mowing the lawn (it does appreciate a weekly cut), staking up tomato plants, tying back passion flower, clematis and sweet peas and giving the garden a good old water in the evening (I do it with using a bucket, it takes me ages but I like it as it gives me some quiet time on me own). Sowed outdoors this week: Dwarf french beans (nice one Will!), climbing french beans, cut and come again lettuce, borage, lemon balm, sunflowers and night scented stock.

You’ve been chitting on me

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The other week I couldn’t stop myself and popped into the garden centre and got myself a bag of Desiree seed potatoes. They cost us £3.99 for about 40 which isn’t bad, as you’re talking 40 plants that will give you a good few spuds on each come harvest time in September, well worth it!

The first thing I’ll be doing is encouraging the seeds to sprout or “chitting” them, which will give them a head-start before planting them outside. We’re not talking the long pale shoots that you see when potatoes have sprouted after being stored in the dark, but ones that are short and sturdy. It’s worth chitting spuds before planting as their shoots usually appear in the ground a couple of weeks before seed spuds that haven’t.

All you basically do is stand the seed potato’s upright in a container (a seed tray or a cardboard egg box) with the blunt end of the tuber upwards (the end that has the “eyes”). Make sure the container is in a cool position with natural light and where’s there’s no risk of frost. I’ve stuck mine on the floor in the back room by the patio doors. Fingers crossed I don’t stand on them when I’m half asleep doing me tai-chi in the morning!