Kitchen Garden Forum

What exactly am I going to do with 115 seed potatoes, 8 types of squash and 200 onion setts? I got over excited at the prospect of an extra half allotment, but will clearly have to annex my neighbours' plots as well.

anyone else overdone it on the seed catalogues yet?

Just off to do it now!!

With or without the vino tho?

You can always put any surplus on the Seed Swap Shop

I don't really need the vino to over-order. Gardening equivalent of eyes bigger than stomach, I think.

dear di,
nowt wrong with overdoing the ordering this will give you the chance to pick out the strongest chitted spuds and firmest optimum sized onion set to plant in the space you have. i deliberately over do it and select the seed to plant to gain maximum yeild. i have no qualms about binning a tray of seed that dont make the grade. use your extra half plot for experiment and to find out what diseases may be present if you intend to keep it.

dear darrenc and Chantal,

I think you have some good points there, a little selection of the best and then a little swapping either on here or with my local lottie friends. Not sure the postal seed swap will be viable with things like chitted spuds though. Cheers and happy new years,
Di

Dear Di,
I always over order on the spuds as I can then plant the biggest and palm the rest off onto my fellow allotment holders. Most seem pleased to get them and would probably not buy a whole sack anyway. Or you can swap your surplus ones for a different variety that you want to try.
As for the onion sets choose the ones that are firm and have the biggest root plates (that fuzzy bit at the bottom). The biggest ones produce more roots and will thus grow into bigger onions. Dispose of the rest as above.
The squash seeds will keep for at least two years if you keep them in a cool dry place so only plant say 1/4 of the packet this year.
Regards Sally Wright.