Yes we have new potatoes!

The Casablanca potatoes in the polytunnel are now producing. I’d had a feel about in the compost last week but apart from a couple of pea-sized tubers, couldn’t find any ready to harvest. I thought it might be a few weeks before I could harvest.

Potato Casablanca Flowers – Tubers Below!

On Thursday I noticed the plants were flowering, a sure sign that there’s treasure forming down below. Sure enough, Saturday they gave us a rather nice meal. Harvested at 6.00pm and on the plate being eaten two hours later. Wonderful.

Brassicas

Set up the small brassica tunnel to the rear of the main tunnel. As with the main tunnel, laid weed membrane after burning planting holes. The brassicas left over are in the coldframe. Happily the brassicas are looking to be establishing well so I’ll probably not plant them but I’ll hang onto them for a bit as spares.

Peas in front of Small Brassica Tunnel

The first sowing of peas look to be OK. I took the privet hedge in the corner of the vegetable area down to just over 1.2 metres to improve the light level at the polytunnel end of the plot. The cuttings actually make great pea-sticks.

Last Cauliflower

The last of the over-wintered cauliflowers was lovely. Almost too good to eat but we forced ourselves. It was delicious.

Last of the over-wintered cauliflowers

Cobra French Climbing Beans

Sowed cobra climbing French beans in the polytunnel at both ends of the centre bed. I sowed 60 odd seeds which should give me roughly two plants per string. Normally I’d just do one but some growers advocate growing multiple climbing beans per pole or string – thought I’d see how if it works.

Emergo Stringless Runner Beans

Sowed Emergo runner beans in pots at 3 per pot. As with the climbing French beans, trying this idea of multiple plants per pole or string.

Mowing the Grass

The scarifying and fertilising of the grass is showing results. It’s looking great, lush and deep green. Mulched under the blackcurrants with the clippings and used some in the cat litter/grass composter which breached the 60ºC barrier this week.

Noticed a nearby farmer fertilising his fields. Really made me appreciate the investment and efficiency of modern farming. First of all a tractor with frontloader forks arrived towing a large flatbed trailer and parked up in the layby. The trailer was loaded with the large bulk bags of fertiliser.

Then the driver went off and returned with another tractor which was equipped with a hopper and fertiliser spreader on the back. The driver then transferred to the towing tractor and used the loader to lift a bulk bag over the hopper. Having loaded the hopper he headed down the farm track and into a field.

After racing around a field, spraying the fertiliser he was back for more. In just a few hours he’d done acres of land and was off to another job. When you sit down to a meal, somebody has worked hard to produce it.