Great advice. I'm off to use my Christmas garden vouchers today. I will look for egg size seed. Now all I need to do is decide which variety!! After a horrible week I'm glad that this is the only decision I have to make today, and what a lovely decision to have to make it is.
Favourite varieties include Charlotte, Anya and Deserie - but happy to be told otherwise.
I will also have a look at broadband seed - any advice here on variety? In my seed box I have Aquadulce but am keen to try something different.
And will keep an eye out for some of the flower/frilly sprouts which was mentioned last year.
Popped to the allotment and was excited to see purple sprouting ready to pick. I'm sure it's a bit early..... But made me think I must start planning for the this years lot.
Seeds are In!
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PLUMPUDDING
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My father always had some flowers of sulphur for dusting potatoes that had been cut. He also used it on the dahlia tubers when he divided them.
I've been picking purple sprouting broccoli for a month now thought the keen frost last week might spoil it but it's still producing lots of shoots.
I've bought some Charlotte and Rooster potatoes as I forgot to save some for seed. It is good to get fresh stock every few years anyway even if you usually save your own. I was going to get some Picasso as I've been very pleased with them in the past, but I've not seen any for sale locally and I only want a few. Will have to look up the nearest potato day. I'm hoping the ones I planted before winter aren't being munched by slugs with it being so mild. They came through last year's very wet winter and the extremely cold one before that, so will just have to wait and see what a mild winter does to them. I've got some straw and cloches handy in case they come up too soon.
If you want to try a different broad bean, Stereo is a lovely small tender one with not too strong a flavour. I tried it last year as I'm not keen on the strong flavoured ones with leathery skins and am too lazy to skin them
I've been picking purple sprouting broccoli for a month now thought the keen frost last week might spoil it but it's still producing lots of shoots.
I've bought some Charlotte and Rooster potatoes as I forgot to save some for seed. It is good to get fresh stock every few years anyway even if you usually save your own. I was going to get some Picasso as I've been very pleased with them in the past, but I've not seen any for sale locally and I only want a few. Will have to look up the nearest potato day. I'm hoping the ones I planted before winter aren't being munched by slugs with it being so mild. They came through last year's very wet winter and the extremely cold one before that, so will just have to wait and see what a mild winter does to them. I've got some straw and cloches handy in case they come up too soon.
If you want to try a different broad bean, Stereo is a lovely small tender one with not too strong a flavour. I tried it last year as I'm not keen on the strong flavoured ones with leathery skins and am too lazy to skin them
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Geoff
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While I was looking through old books to see what it said about cutting seed potatoes I found this:
“To keep a family of four in potatoes for 12 months you would have to plant upwards of ½ cwt of seed potatoes. On average there are about seven tubers to the pound in weight”
So he is suggesting you need to plant almost 400 seed potatoes. Assuming a mixture of first and second earlies and maincrop I would think it reasonable to expect at least 4lbs per root or 1,600 total – or in new money 14kgs per week!
So how many potatoes do you eat?
“To keep a family of four in potatoes for 12 months you would have to plant upwards of ½ cwt of seed potatoes. On average there are about seven tubers to the pound in weight”
So he is suggesting you need to plant almost 400 seed potatoes. Assuming a mixture of first and second earlies and maincrop I would think it reasonable to expect at least 4lbs per root or 1,600 total – or in new money 14kgs per week!
So how many potatoes do you eat?
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PLUMPUDDING
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Morning Geoff, well, we eat far less potatoes than we used to as we eat a lot more rice, pasta and sweet potatoes etc. I did make some red white and blue mash yesterday though to use up the Salad Blue, Highland Burgundy Red and Orion potatoes. You have to mash each colour separately or the colour is a rather unappetising greyish lilac
Your book must have been quite an old one when potatoes were the mainstay of a meal. Is there a date in it?
Your book must have been quite an old one when potatoes were the mainstay of a meal. Is there a date in it?
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Shallot Man
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I normally get my seed potato's from a nursery some three miles from me, self select, some forty varieties. Wishing to try SARPO I [which he didn't stock ]ordered on line. Arrived Friday, some the size of baking potato's, some so small and shriveled, tempted to throw them straight into the recycling bin. 
[quote="PLUMPUDDING"
I've been picking purple sprouting broccoli for a month now thought the keen frost last week might spoil it but it's still producing lots of shoots.
Gosh, I'm only thinking about picking mine next month. There is one head on each plant, but I usually wait till there is a bit more before I start picking, and that is always February. Should I pick the head as soon as if forms, or maybe plant out a bit earlier? I play a waiting game with the cabbage whites, grow the PS broccoli in pots in the tunnel until end of July and then plant them out. Am I holding them back too much do you think?
I've been picking purple sprouting broccoli for a month now thought the keen frost last week might spoil it but it's still producing lots of shoots.
Gosh, I'm only thinking about picking mine next month. There is one head on each plant, but I usually wait till there is a bit more before I start picking, and that is always February. Should I pick the head as soon as if forms, or maybe plant out a bit earlier? I play a waiting game with the cabbage whites, grow the PS broccoli in pots in the tunnel until end of July and then plant them out. Am I holding them back too much do you think?
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Pa Snip
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Shallot Man wrote:I normally get my seed potato's from a nursery some three miles from me, self select, some forty varieties. Wishing to try SARPO I [which he didn't stock ]ordered on line. Arrived Friday, some the size of baking potato's, some so small and shriveled, tempted to throw them straight into the recycling bin.
1) Complain.
2) If complaining gets no results, Try them anyway,
the problem is that opinion about suitable size of a seed potato is subjective
which variety of Sarpo ?
The large ones become the subject of the short discussion held on here the other day about cutting seed potatoes into smaller segments.
From what I have read since it should be as simple as just leaving the clean cut side of the potatoes to dry before planting. No need to use sulphur or lime (and I agree with whoever said potatoes don't like lime so why would you be told to coat them in it.
We have grown Sarpo Mira for a number of years now. The crop does vary considerably in size from small to baking /jacket. There is one in the Sarpo range called Sarpo Axona, it is said to give a more evenly sized crop.
Like Sarpo Mira it is a late maincrop variety
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
. There is one in the Sarpo range called Sarpo Axona, it is said to give a more evenly sized crop.
I grew them last year because of blight resistance. There was a great variation in size. I had a few chitted ones left over and rather than chuck them I left them chitting all summer and then in August planted them in buckets in the polytunnel. I got a crop of hen egg sized potatoes. Result (by accident!)
I grew them last year because of blight resistance. There was a great variation in size. I had a few chitted ones left over and rather than chuck them I left them chitting all summer and then in August planted them in buckets in the polytunnel. I got a crop of hen egg sized potatoes. Result (by accident!)
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Shallot Man
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Pa Snip.
Baking potato size are Sarpo "Blue Danube". " Sarpo Mira" some are so small, with no sign of eye's and shriveled.
Baking potato size are Sarpo "Blue Danube". " Sarpo Mira" some are so small, with no sign of eye's and shriveled.
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Pa Snip
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Having looked at 60 plus varieties of loose seed potatoes today at the nursery we always use I can confirm that there were all different shapes and sizes in the boxes and they were very much mixed.
Today was supposed to be just a reconnoitre as we are planning visiting a potato fair next weekend, as it happened we still came away with two varieties today that we have not tried before. Plus some Picasso shallots to supplement those now growing from overwintering.
Belle De Fontenay, loose @ £1.95 per kg (20 purchased, size & weight worked out @ 15p each)
Jazzy, 2kg net bag @ £3.95 (37 spuds in bag, should get a return on 11p per spud)
They are now in egg trays in the summer house.
Looks like this mornings drawn up plan to have just 4 varieties this year is going to go straight out the window.
I picked through the two varieties I wanted and all had little sign of 'eyes' but they were firm
Shallot Man I think the bit that would most concern me about what you have received is your comment that they are shrivelled.
Got to be worth a complaint, unless you got them dirt cheap.
Notice that both Suttons and T & M are now offering Sarpo Axona as new to their range, my supplier ordered them and was told they were unavailable. Suspect T & M / Suttons might have taken everything they could.
Will be looking to see if their are any at the potato fair.
Today was supposed to be just a reconnoitre as we are planning visiting a potato fair next weekend, as it happened we still came away with two varieties today that we have not tried before. Plus some Picasso shallots to supplement those now growing from overwintering.
Belle De Fontenay, loose @ £1.95 per kg (20 purchased, size & weight worked out @ 15p each)
Jazzy, 2kg net bag @ £3.95 (37 spuds in bag, should get a return on 11p per spud)
They are now in egg trays in the summer house.
Looks like this mornings drawn up plan to have just 4 varieties this year is going to go straight out the window.
I picked through the two varieties I wanted and all had little sign of 'eyes' but they were firm
Shallot Man I think the bit that would most concern me about what you have received is your comment that they are shrivelled.
Got to be worth a complaint, unless you got them dirt cheap.
Notice that both Suttons and T & M are now offering Sarpo Axona as new to their range, my supplier ordered them and was told they were unavailable. Suspect T & M / Suttons might have taken everything they could.
Will be looking to see if their are any at the potato fair.
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
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PLUMPUDDING
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Bean, My purple sprouting broccoli is two months earlier than usual. I've never known it so early, it just shows the difference between a mild winter and a normal one with frostsand prolonged cold weather. The kale is also more tender than usual as it is still producing new growth.
Regarding the Sarpo Axona, they produce nice baking sized potatoes with a few smaller ones. I find that they have a better flavour if you don't leave them in the ground too long. The strong leaves tend to stay green instead of dying down so you can't rely on that to indicate that they are ready. It is probably why they have good blight resistance too.
Regarding the Sarpo Axona, they produce nice baking sized potatoes with a few smaller ones. I find that they have a better flavour if you don't leave them in the ground too long. The strong leaves tend to stay green instead of dying down so you can't rely on that to indicate that they are ready. It is probably why they have good blight resistance too.
PlumPudding,
Oh I see, it's the mild winter, not the norm. Great that both the broccoli and kale are so productive.
That's so interesting about the Sarpo Axona, I actually left them in for ages, obviously far too long, as the leaves were so green I presumed that they were not ready. I'll lift them this year after the prescribed number of weeks and see how they are doing. No slug damage even though they were in the ground for so long.
Thanks for all that info!
Oh I see, it's the mild winter, not the norm. Great that both the broccoli and kale are so productive.
That's so interesting about the Sarpo Axona, I actually left them in for ages, obviously far too long, as the leaves were so green I presumed that they were not ready. I'll lift them this year after the prescribed number of weeks and see how they are doing. No slug damage even though they were in the ground for so long.
Thanks for all that info!