Firstly a warm welcome to Julee on the follower bar and Sue Aimee and Jane on Blog Lovin
Disclaimer .... If you don't grow potatoes or tomatoes you will probably find this post boring
I finally managed to get all the potatoes up today. we don't grow a vast amount, just a few pink fir apples and a few maincrop. This year I grew from my own seed, which is not really a good idea, but I found twenty little Sarpo Miras potatoes in a bag under the stairs and thought "Why not?" So in they went next to a few pink fir apples. If you read an earlier post you will know that the PFAs got blight, but the SM looked to be free, as per the claims.
Here are the SM earlier this summer
And here is the blight-affected PFA with the SM next to them a little later.
And here is the first SM plant being lifted on Sunday.
As you can see the crop is VERY good. I have weighed the potatoes from each plant. They have ranged from 3 kilos to 7.50 kilos. The total crop was 102 kilos from 20 plants - an average of 5 kilos a plant. I planted the seed in two rows approx 5.5 feet apart with 18 inches between each seed.
As is usual there are a few that have been speared with the fork and a (very) few that have been slugged. I will proccess these this week. As I have quite a bit f fish I can feel fishcakes on the way!
You may remember that earlier this year I experimented with aspirin and willow water sprays on the tomatoes to deter blight. I can't tell you how successful this was as NONE of the tomatoes in this greenhouse have had blight, nor the smaller greenhouse in the front garden. Meanwhile the outside tomatoes are showing some signs. I will try again next year to assess with Aspirin and/or Willow water. Not very helpful really.
The tomato crop has also been good this year. After a week away there were lots to pick and sort through. Split ones to make puree/passata, really rubbish ones for the chickens and good ones to eat and sell. Today my friend, who was here for the day, picked ten kilos from the big greenhouse.We never went near the small greenhouse, which has a slightly later crop of Romas and Marmande. I'll do that tomorrow.
In the next post I will tell you what did badly!
Off to try to clean my nails out (yes I know I should wear gloves!) before I start the first of several baking sessions for the Civic Society events... thank heavens for freezers!
Until next time
Gillx
Luckily I don't need to dig up my potatoes, the dogs have been doing it for me this week!!
ReplyDeleteHave they actually dug them up ?!
DeleteI can not do much with gloves on, I scrape my nails along the bar of soap and when they are full I then use a nail brush on them, it seems to be the quickest way to get them clean.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this I tried and tried to clean them and eventually had a long shower which did help.
DeleteWill try this next time.
Pam has stolen my handy tip..... can't you ban her!
ReplyDeleteoooh no I couldn't ban Pam!
DeleteAt least you confirm it works
I must get my **se into gear and sort the garden out ready for some winter/spring planted veg and sort the hens' aviary out too. I might be working full-time in the near future and need to know they have a safe area whilst I'm out at work.
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes have not been good this year, in fact, apart from the runner beans, everything has!
My runner beans have been pathetic and my french beans have done nothing at all.
DeleteI'm only just starting my frugal journey. My tomatoes did well and the tip regarding aspirin and blight is fantastic. I want to grow potatoes next year. We have just built a raised veg patch. The patch will contain a mix of fruit and veg to reduce our good bill. It's all new to us so I will be following lots of blogs in the hope of getting sound advice and tips. Hoping to go blackberry picking tomorrow so that I can make more jam. My neighbour donated some damsons and I made jam but it didn't set ;( the next two years for us are trial and error learning new things ready for retirement! Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi there !
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Just popped over to your blog. Looks good.
Are you going to have a follower bar (google connect?) I can then be your first follower!
Gill
I'm a complete novice so I'll have to look it up. I think there is a follower bit.
DeleteHi Gill, Great crop of spuds; terrible about the PFA - they are my favourite of all time.
ReplyDeleteI never wear gloves in the garden except when dealing with the thistles, just cant get on with them. I understand the weather has been good in England this summer, right ?
Hi Lizzie How are you?
ReplyDeleteWe saved about 7kg of PFA but I don't suppose they will keep, so we will have to eat them up soon
The weather has been really good this summer. Here in our part of Derbyshire we have had very little rain and have been watering the gardens as best we can. usually at this time of year there is little in the garden, but the long summer means that we are still picking in ernest. Our friend in the south west (Cornwall) has had much more rain than us, which is unusual. I'm looking out of the window now and it has started to drizzle...one less job today, as the beans were getting very dry!