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Grow Your Own Potatoes


Sunday, January 31, 2010

I always find it exciting when the time comes to grow my own potatoes.  I've been buzzing  around local garden centres to get in good stocks of the seed potatoes and have then been happily setting them up to 'chit'. 
Set in seed trays and some old egg boxes the tubers soon start to produce the chits or tiny sprouts, making for a better and heavier crop which is also said to be a little earlier than if they're not chitted.  I'm never sure how much difference chitting makes, but its just one of those jobs I enjoy.  Strangely therapeutic after spending too long in from of the computer! But there is still some scarily cold weather about so all the trays are draped with fleece, and each is also stood on an inverted tall plastic flowerpot - it may look peculiar but its the best anti-mouse device I know!
If you've never tried to grow your own potatoes, then there is still time to order some smashing quality tubers of two of my favourites, 'Charlotte' and 'Nadine' from Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood, then my weekly emails will be there to help you through the process from soil preparation to lifting ! Click on grow Your Own at the top of the home page for more info.


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With the soil drier, I have finally managed to plant the last of my garlic and onion sets.

The sky is grey, my toes are turning rigid in my boots and the rain is hammering down, but my thoughts are turning to the Mediterranean, and summer holidays.

The first of the snowdrops are up, my daffodils are romping away - I can almost believe that spring will actually arrive. But it's the seed potatoes that are really firing me up.

I've been spring cleaning. The greenhouse, of course, not the house. Somehow the lure of the compost and seed trays was much greater than that of the vacuum cleaner and duster.

  Copyright © 2009 Pippa Greenwood.