New Potatoes Flowering and Rebuilding the Water Storage

New Potatoes!

The Arran Pilot are flowering, which is the traditional sign that there are tubers below so tonight we ate real new potatoes, 3 hours from ground to tum. Wonderful. However, I think it will be a couple of weeks before there is enough yield per plant to really justify digging them up. One meal cost 2 plants. Not economic, but worth it.


We also had my peas frozen last year and my mushrooms, although they are from a box kit grown in the garage. The steak was bought in as the council take a dim view of keeping cows on the plot.


Engineering Works


Rebuilding the water storage on plot 29 occupied me next. Having seen it fall last night it was time to do it properly. Laid a thick slab donated by Tony from plot 28, then built up some bricks and laid a slab on top of that donated by Mark from plot 1. Filled the barrel and it was stable. So that may be that.


More salad crops


Planted a ridge cucumber on deep bed 1 on plot 29 and sowed some White Lisbon spring onions plus 18 jour radish and a couple of rows of Tom Thumb lettuce, These should be out of the ground before the cucumbers take over. Planted a patch of rocket on the main salad bed. The cut and come again leaves are doing well and we should have spring onions ready next week.


Fertiliser and Water


The maincrop potatoes on plot 29 are showing well but to boost them I gave them some pelleted organic fertiliser on top of the compost. The remainder of the comfrey cut will be spread over the plot when it has wilted and is easier to handle.


Deep bed 1 got some fish blood and bone (FBB) a fairly balanced fertiliser to get it off to a good start. The brassicas will get fertilised when I take the netting off and weed them.


On plot 5 the potatoes got a good dose of FBB to help them finish off. The brassicas and sweetcorn got pelleted chicken manure to give them a nitrogen boost as did the comfrey patch after its cut.


Gave all of plot 5  a good soaking with the hosepipe and the beans on plot 29 and the deep beds. There is no rain forecast until next week and I don’t want to lose out due to dryness.


I firmly believe the secret to good long term results is good soil and I have been working hard to feed the soil but even so, feeding the plants through organic fertilisers will increase yields.

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