My Vegetable Patch

[Busy Bee]

Some photo's for yiz to look at.

 

[FenBee]

Very smart allotment Busy Bee, not a weed in sight. What variety of potatoes are you growing? Let me guess, Ulster Chieftains

 

[Busy Bee]

No no no, Dublin Queens (Early Variety), excellant flavour.

Busy Bee

 

[jon]

I am a Kerr's Pink man myself and Sharpe's Express for the earlies.

 

[BKF Admin]

I have to laugh at the way certain posters have posted and replied to this thread regards the members locations.

You lot are spud mad.

I used to have an Irish neighber who filled his whole garden with spuds every year.

p.s thats a very smart veg patch you have there,nice drop of soil,I can see you have spent a lot of time on it.

Is that beans in the last pic ?

 

[victor meldrew]

Never got beyond Marus Piper mi self .

John W

 

[BKF Admin]

Are MP's the best chipping spud ?

 

[victor meldrew]

Are MP's the best chipping spud ?

Mhhhhhh! should boil up well in oil nudge nudge wink wink .

John

 

[Baggyone]

Earlies and salads are worth growing but i did main crops on my allotments first year and the yield frankly was not worth the space. Not at £4.50 a bag round here anyway.

 

[Busy Bee]

Potatoes

Earlies and salads are worth growing but i did main crops on my allotments first year and the yield frankly was not worth the space. Not at £4.50 a bag round here anyway.

I don't know how you grew your spudies but I have never failed. I use a tried and tested method for potatoes.

Dig deep drills

Half fill with 2-3 year old farm dung!

Cover dung lightly wil soil.

Sow small amount of fertilizer in drill (optional)

Place spud in drill with bud up.

Plant seed spud 14-18 inches apart.

Plant in drill 27 inches apart.

Close drills from each side so as to form an apex of soil over the seed potato.

1-2 weeks later knock the top of the drill with a rake

When spuds have come through the soil and are at rosette stage take a rake and mound the soil back up around the spuds leaves almost covering to form an apex shape drill again. This is done in late evening when the spud has closed up same as a prayer plant.

When weather has warmed up June time you need to spray for blight but this will occur in weather which is humid and damp.

Late June onwards spunds can be harvested Early variety.


Busy Bee

 

[BKF Admin]

Spuds are the only veg I can remember when to plant,I always used to put them in on FA cup final morning.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Garlic is my choice this year. Planted in November last year, it is going great.

My suppermarket veg section is doing better than the seed bought bulbs.

Although I still have 1.5 beds of spuds

 

[BKF Admin]

2 of my kids have chilli peppers growing,its a competition to see who can grow the hottest type and eat them,at the last count they hade about 5 different varieties each.

 

[Busy Bee]

Garden

Is that beans in the last pic ?

Yes Admin, the Beans are on the right Bunyards.

Peas on the left, Greenshaft.


Busy Bee

 

[Busy Bee]

Ummm, Best chipping spud would be Roosters.

I love the Kerr's Pink as a main crop but they can be tempermental if not looked after. Best spud for boiling in there jackets, great taste.

Tell me this, English people like a soapy spud, right or wrong?

Busy Bee

 

[hedgerow pete]

am sorry but your all wrong best chippin potatoe is called spunter do its a rare one but was the main frying potatoe of the uk and still can be found in a few chip shops, i have not planted a single spud this year as i was blighted last year big time lost spuds and tomatoes, we still have jars of green tomatoe chuckney to finish offi

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Tell me this, English people like a soapy spud, right or wrong?

Busy Bee

I would call it a "flour'ry) spud is best for roasting.

But when I do the roast potatos (my contribution to cooking) I boil until just get a knife in, then drain and allow all water to evapourate off then add a couple of table spoons of plain flour then with pan lid on "knock" the edges of the spuds by shaking the pan around.

It gives great crispy bits on the roast potatos.

But back to my student days....pochine! A combination of a love of cheap booze and the access to a distilation rig

 

[jon]

I always used to put them in on FA cup final morning.

We plant our earlies on St. Pat's day - 17 March. You would be into next season for your first taste planting on FA Cup final day.

 

[jon]

.

I love the Kerr's Pink as a main crop but they can be tempermental if not looked after. Best spud for boiling in there jackets, great taste.

Busy Bee

You really need to steam the Kerr's Pink unless you want to make potato soup.

 

[Busy Bee]

You really need to steam the Kerr's Pink unless you want to make potato soup.

We've been growing our own Kerr's Pink's this years and never have steamed them.

Sometimes people when growing spuds don't allow them to ripen. They use spays to burn they down before they are ready. Kerr's Pink's should fall down and turn a yellow like colour and should'nt really be burnt down with spray.

As well with Kerr's Pink's you need to replace half your seed every 3 years for new SE1's, the ware spuds tend to get bad skins, bad shapes and less ware spuds if the seeds is continually used.

I currently have a bit more than an acre of Kerr's Pink planted as a main crop, just waiting for them to come up through to run them up with the drill plough.


Busy Bee