The Tatties Thread 2020

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by JWK, Mar 28, 2020.

  1. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2008
    Messages:
    30,688
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Surrey
    Ratings:
    +45,648
    Never done this but I imagine you will be limited to what is available 'prepared for planting now' (you can't just replant some tubers harvested right now unless you treat them, for example). I recall JBA Potatoes used to sell Christmas seed potatoes. Maris peer I have grown and definitely good for roasting.
     
  2. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2005
    Messages:
    47,724
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Mid Kent
    Ratings:
    +84,386
    I've been buying supermarket main crop mostly what they class as baking potatoes.
    They usually start to shoot before I get round to eating them.
    So just a thought, they might be worth a try.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

      Joined:
      Jun 3, 2008
      Messages:
      30,688
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      Surrey
      Ratings:
      +45,648
      Good idea pete, if they are shooting now they will be OK to plant for harvest in the autumn/winter.
       
      • Like Like x 1
      • Friendly Friendly x 1
      • Scrungee

        Scrungee Well known for it

        Joined:
        Dec 5, 2010
        Messages:
        16,524
        Location:
        Central England on heavy clay soil
        Ratings:
        +28,996
        3) Take stem cuttings from potatoes

        4) Photograph their flowers (maybe I should have used a diffuser or waited for an overcast sky):

        spud macro.jpg

        spud flowers.jpg


        5) Sniff potato flowers. Never noticed how fragrant potato flowers are until this year.



        P.S. Re late season/Xmas spuds, I thought they were normally the likes of Charlottes that had been produced the previous year and kept in cool storage to delay sprouting, so UK produced maincrop spuds would be the same, except might have been chemically treated to delay sprouting. Tubers produced this year will be dormant until 2021, just as if they'd been left in the ground unharvested.
         
        • Like Like x 2
        • Informative Informative x 1
        • Creative Creative x 1
          Last edited: Jun 27, 2020
        • JWK

          JWK Gardener Staff Member

          Joined:
          Jun 3, 2008
          Messages:
          30,688
          Gender:
          Male
          Location:
          Surrey
          Ratings:
          +45,648
          Never realised that either. None of my earlies flowered this year whilst all my maincrop have. I like potato flowers they look exotic especially when they come out en masse.
           
        • Scrungee

          Scrungee Well known for it

          Joined:
          Dec 5, 2010
          Messages:
          16,524
          Location:
          Central England on heavy clay soil
          Ratings:
          +28,996
          I offered to pick a bunch of them to put in a vase indoors, but Mrs Scrungee declined my offer. It's only because they've grown so tall this year that I noticed their fragrance.

          But I wasn't serious because flowering is supposed to be an indication the tubers are swelling, so I've always left them on in case they send done sort of signal to down below, and waited for berries to start forming before removing them to ensure the plant is concentrating all its energy on tuber, not fruit production.
           
          • Like Like x 1
          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

            Joined:
            Jan 9, 2005
            Messages:
            47,724
            Gender:
            Male
            Occupation:
            Retired
            Location:
            Mid Kent
            Ratings:
            +84,386
            Camera on a pole?
            Good to see you are keeping up social distancing from your spuds @Scrungee
             
            • Funny Funny x 3
            • JWK

              JWK Gardener Staff Member

              Joined:
              Jun 3, 2008
              Messages:
              30,688
              Gender:
              Male
              Location:
              Surrey
              Ratings:
              +45,648
              6) Take a photograph of taking a photograph of your potatoes.
               
              • Agree Agree x 2
              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

                Joined:
                Jan 9, 2005
                Messages:
                47,724
                Gender:
                Male
                Occupation:
                Retired
                Location:
                Mid Kent
                Ratings:
                +84,386
                Its called Boredom, John;):biggrin:
                 
                • Agree Agree x 2
                • Freddy

                  Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

                  Joined:
                  Jul 15, 2007
                  Messages:
                  9,461
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired - yay!
                  Location:
                  Bristol
                  Ratings:
                  +12,508
                  That made for an interesting read. Not something I would attempt as I simply don’t have the space (3 raised beds to grow everything), but a fun thing to do.
                   
                  • Like Like x 1
                  • Islander77

                    Islander77 Keen Gardener

                    Joined:
                    Mar 17, 2020
                    Messages:
                    494
                    Gender:
                    Female
                    Occupation:
                    Various , allegedly retired
                    Location:
                    West Coast of Ireland; offshore
                    Ratings:
                    +1,218
                    This week I found a small box of well sprouted potatoes, red Irish Roosters, under the table so have put them largely under hay where they may do something useful in one way or another .
                     
                    • Like Like x 2
                    • JWK

                      JWK Gardener Staff Member

                      Joined:
                      Jun 3, 2008
                      Messages:
                      30,688
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Location:
                      Surrey
                      Ratings:
                      +45,648
                      You have nothing to lose Islander. They will be ok under hay just a target for slugs if it goes slimy.
                       
                    • Islander77

                      Islander77 Keen Gardener

                      Joined:
                      Mar 17, 2020
                      Messages:
                      494
                      Gender:
                      Female
                      Occupation:
                      Various , allegedly retired
                      Location:
                      West Coast of Ireland; offshore
                      Ratings:
                      +1,218
                      I have that covered! Irresistible slug traps... They are also on stony ground so that may help .
                       
                      • Like Like x 1
                      • Vince

                        Vince Not so well known for it.

                        Joined:
                        Mar 10, 2008
                        Messages:
                        1,861
                        Gender:
                        Male
                        Occupation:
                        Retired
                        Location:
                        North London / Lincolnshire Fens
                        Ratings:
                        +3,499
                        Had the first of our charlottes, exquisite fresh from the garden, I'm going nowhere near my Cara's until the haulms have fully died off.
                         
                        • Like Like x 4
                        • Freddy

                          Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

                          Joined:
                          Jul 15, 2007
                          Messages:
                          9,461
                          Gender:
                          Male
                          Occupation:
                          Retired - yay!
                          Location:
                          Bristol
                          Ratings:
                          +12,508
                          Around a week ago I noticed one of my plants (Foremost) had Blackleg so dug it up and found a few useable, small spuds. Yesterday I dug one up and got a reasonable amount of quite large tubers, easily enough for two meals for two. The flavour? Nice, but not as nice as my favourite, Arran Pilot. They took around 40 minutes to cook through, which may account for the somewhat ‘watery’ texture.
                           
                          • Informative Informative x 2
                          • Agree Agree x 1
                          Loading...

                          Share This Page

                          1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                            By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                            Dismiss Notice