Kitchen Garden Forum

I have always been under the impression that size did not make a lot of difference, the results could be satisfactory even from below average.

Time for me to change my mind because this year my main crop King Edward seed potatoes were far smaller than usual. The 2.5kg bag contained over 50 tubers all of which were about 1inch across.

The first earlies were larger and all showed good top growth. The mains have grown sparse and weak and way below what I would normally expect from a main crop potato. Pass on what the harvest will be like. 22 Sharpes express have produced a 38 pound harvest

Nearest camera are the King Edwards, poor growth. Behind those are the first earlies.



I think size might matter after all

Last year I had tops on tatties around 4 feet tall, but there was next to nothing underneath them(lifted a bit early as the dreaded "b word" struck them), hopefully this year will be better.

Mine are not much different our onions must be the worst I've grown the garlic are all small only three elephant garlic out of twelve planted have grown , most other things are going well

I think it is more down to the weather....or could it be small seed potatoes, struggle more in bad weather.....

I've had mixed results as well. The Valour are very weak & patchy but the Picasso look much happier. The Jazzy have succumbed to the heat & keeled over where they stood nicely until I picked the mains & I had some really whoopers - just salad size spuds this year.

I dug up what garlic was left after the thieving g*ts had taken what they wanted. Wish I hadn't bothered. I have about 8 paltry bulbs to last me the year
However, we've had more strawberries than we knew what to do with and I have random bramble at home that I've tried to kill several times which has about a gazillion fruits ripening on it, so I guess it stays!
Most other things have dried up, but the tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing ok, considering that we only water them twice a week.

I think at the end of the day it's more a case of weather matters more than size and much as we all complain about rainy days, this summer is showing us only too well whatv happens when we don,t get enough of it. Even with regular watering less than half of my elephant garlic bulbs had divided by the time the leaves had started to turn yellow.
I,ve never grown potatoes apart from a couple of attempts in containers. If you keave them in the ground until we have some decent rainfall instead of harvesting them now, will they start to increase in size, albeit somewhat belatedly?

The one blessing so far that that the continual sunshine seems to be keeping the Hutton blight alerts at bay. My outdoor tomatoes are doing very well and developing lots of fruit. I'll be gutted if I lose them

Primrose wrote:I,ve never grown potatoes apart from a couple of attempts in containers. If you keave them in the ground until we have some decent rainfall instead of harvesting them now, will they start to increase in size, albeit somewhat belatedly?

If the haulms and all green growth has died back then all leaving them in the ground will do is harden off the skin. Oh and also provide a picnic for slugs and wireworms. You wont get further improvements in size at hat stage.

Old Codgers garlic....they are whoppers.....

Well that's makes me feel better.......I think!

I'm jealous. He must have been growing them on a manure heap! They look as if the bulbs have nicely split too which a lot of mine didn,t. What does he do with all the little bulbils attached to the base of the bulbs. I always wonder if it's worth trying to do anything with mine.

I don't do any thing with the small bulbs l just split the bulbs I save, and set the cloves in October then they take there chance, I haven't failed yet in ten years.

Our garlic are large and fine this year, especially Mersley Wight, but I did water them copiously earlier in the year and fed them with onion and garlic fertiliser. Instead, the shallots grown from sets (Jermor and Golden Gourmet) are not nearly as good as previous year. I planted all the garlic and shallot sets at the very end of September. Seed-grown Ambition shallots are still growing.
The saddest sight are our peas on the allotment which are yellowing an drying up.
Rain forecast for tomorrow!

Blimey OC!

They are huge! I was pleased with mine this year, (even with the late splitting), but no where like yours! Well done - blimey I don't think I've done garlic envy before!

Our Pease have been really good most cabbage are looking good I've four pumpkins growing well but all flowers nothing else showing ,we have the Britain in bloom judges coming at 9 o'clock in the morning it has forecast rain for tomorrow afternoon but it's raining hard at the moment and has been for nearly two hours