Kitchen Garden Forum

The endless search for a decent tomato, carrots that taste like paraffin, green beans that spent so much time in storage they are soft as I'm preparing them, that dreadful experience recently with Charlotte potatoes and now garlic and sight of those bags of kale chopped with woody stalks is disappointing.

For the past three years I didn't have to buy garlic, two weeks ago I ran out so bought some that was soft and sprouting. Some was thrown in the bin in disgust and usable remainder didn't taste garlicky.

Now I understand why you people go to the lengths you go too and have poly tunnels to extend your season.

Kale without stalks that is so tender I'm making fresh salads with it is my first crop this year, what a joy. The promise of spuds lifted and cooked same day.

And etc.

I should have started this fifteen years ago when we first arrived in Pembrokeshire, it's all been very hard work for me and the ups have outweighed the downs so I'm enthusiastic and making more plans.

it is the best thing isn't it! the flavour, the texture of homegrown.
We have been enjoyng the new potatoes this week, a bit of lettuce and some starwberries, as well as copious rhubarb crumbles! My dh now asks for rhubarb crumble for every pudding! I can't possibly keep up with that kind of demand, so crumble once or twice a week, he'll have to make do!

Our first crop of early forced rhubarb was fabulous, even the later crops would have been good to eat but I didn't pick them sorest ably by now they will have past their best.
since I replanted my French tarragon from pots to the one of my beds it has gone very lively so thanks to Mr Diaconi for asserting his view on growing in pots.

Masses of fresh tarragon and lots to freeze will be a welcome this year and I'm cosseting my garlic after tasting that junk I bought in the grocers.

When can I first lift my Pink Fir Apple ? Do I have to wait for flowers ? Lots of small new spuds in the stores right now. When does the plant have those small spuds ?

Pink Fir Apple seems to be classified by some as a salad potato and by others, such as the RHS, as a maincrop.

First Early potatoes are harvested from around 12 weeks after planting sometimes that means during flowering or very soon after.

Maincrop around 20 weeks after planting.
Both of course being subject to local conditions.

Best way to find out is to just have a gentle grub around at the base of one plant, if careful you can cover back up if growth not yet big enough

Thanks for the tip about grubbing down for a look see, I'll go for that because I only just started a garden diary and have yet to get into the habit of recording sowing, planting, harvesting and other events where the dates might be useful in subsequent seasons though as is often pointed out, weather conditions can make a massive difference.

Also, the Charlotte I had sown two weeks before are way behind the PFA yet I'm sure I was told that PFA are slow compared to Charlotte.

Yesterday was the first warm day this year and whilst some crops are doing well others are slow.

I planted two types of tomato under netting and at the end of a row of brassicas, under netting mostly for wind protection in the case of the tomatoes but I just realised they won't get bees to do what bees do so can I do this myself ? I'm growing these tomatoes as James Wong has suggested but they really did have to go under netting because of the strong winds we get here.

Dear Pa Snip,
for Pink Fir Apple both designations are correct.

The thing with PFA is that it is a really old variety that takes a long time to produce its tubers - usually around 20 weeks from planting to "new" potato size. Most maincrop potato varieties take about 16 weeks to attain the "new" spud size. What varieties of potato that are commonly grown as early potatoes usually take about 10-12 weeks from planting.

PFA is called a salad type because that is how they are usually eaten. They are curious in that they are eaten as a salad spud both when classed as new (skins soft and scrapeable) and when mature and would (if another potato variety) need peeling.

Regards Sally Wright.

Because my PFA 'Haulms' are so big I did an exploratory dig around the edges of one plant, all I found was underground runners that I assumed would be associated with newly growing potatoes so I quickly covered-up.

It's because I'm excited.

The PFA were sown at the end of March so have been in the ground for only ten weeks yet they already have flower buds showing and are about 18 inches tall. About four times the size of the Charlotte I had sown a week earlier though the Charlotte were old spuds we hadn't used and had started sprouting. Those Charlotte were also the ones that tasted nothing like Charlotte, they were a horrible sweet flavour that was described by Geoff (I think) as the result of storage and perhaps to do with whatever they wash them in before they go into storage.

It was that horrible taste that committed me to never buy spuds from supermarkets or unless they have soil on them. That was a horrible experience and after such care preparation with chopped parsley and mint.

Dear Richard,
PFA are a very leggy potato with haulms at least twice as long as normal potatoes that have been bred with mechanical harvesting in mind. They were known to exist as a variety back in the 1840's when harvesting was always done by hand so it did not matter how much top they had.

That said I try to plant them in rows at least three feet apart. This may seem like a waste of space but you can often get a row of something else to crop in between such as spinach, lettuce, radish or some spring sown white turnips (tokyo cross etc) before the tops meet over the rows. Especially if they are module sown to give them a head start.
regards Sally Wright.

As-ever, a big thank-you to you Sally.

I'm afraid I crowded them. On the basis of your advise though after this years novice experience next year will improve things.

Sliding slightly to one-side.
Your advise about keeping our two-stoke machines 'wet' in their old fuel over winter rather than draining them. Then draining and replacing with fresh fuel in the spring, this is working for me 100%.

Richard, my newly found garden machinery workshop advise using "Aspen" fuel, never leaving standard petrol (neat or 2-stroke) in machinery.

Apparently current composition of standard petrol rots rubber and many carburettors have rubber diaphragms and unless very recently manufactured not rot resistant.

Their demo is two jars , aspen and standard petrol, aspen has a polystyrene packaging peanut in it, add one to standard petrol and it dissolves,

Wow, thanks for that Peter.

I'll be on the lookout for Aspen even though my new routine has produced a result, the bizarre thing is that my neighbour and a chap who has a rental cottage up the lane never service their machines and always start them up on old fuel without any consequences.

It took a fifty mile round trip to buy Aspen fuel for my machines and whilst I pass this place when I travel inland I'm either not wanting to carry fuel on the outward journey or far too tired and want to get home so today I bought 15 litres.

Very expensive, hopefully it will be worth the investment and thanks again for the tip.

My plan is to use Aspen at the last use of the season.

I have always dreaded spending time with a machine because of the exhaust fumes, also, some years ago a forester said he always used Aspen fuel though I don't remember his comments in detail.

Back to the benefits of growing our own I'm still throwing stuff away a couple of days after buying it. Spring onions and French green beans from Egypt might help us through the winter though I bet you-lot with polytunnels had lovely crunchy crops weeks ago.

I would rather go without and eat what is in season or I know is good, I grew lettuce during winter and not under cover. I'm sure if I ever got around to accepting a polytunnel I could almost sustain us.

It's another reason I'm always swayed away from a greenhouse, because even though we both wouldn't enjoy the sight of a plastic tunnel on the paddock I can always feel one coming-on. Particularly if she retires.

Growing your own has to be easier in sheltered areas, even though it's not easy here I have overcome a lot of the early problems. Investment of time and cash has been the answer for me, even though this means my few produce compared to Geoff's market-garden level of production are still currently very expensive to produce.

Never say never hey Richard? I'd love a polytunnel but have to wait until a decision is made on where they are going to re-site the allotments & exactly when we are going to be moved.

I think polytunnels look cool on a plot or in a back garden & mean there is a like minded grower some where about, and I don't think about the plastic, but I'm sure it could be camouflaged a bit.

Westi