Thinking about potatoes
by Diane - November 23rd, 2014.Filed under: Suttons Seeds.
When it’s too wet and miserable to go out on the allotment then it’s nice to think about what you’re going to plant next year.
Some accessories you might find useful:
Potato Fork £36.99
The bayonet-shaped prongs of our traditional Potato Fork will help you to avoid damaging the potatoes when you lift them! It has a solid forged head and cap and ferrule socket for extra strength, four hardened and tempered prongs and an ash handle with T grip. Length 111cm (43).
Hessian Sacks £16.99
Store your potatoes and other crops in the traditional way – in a hessian sack. They’re robust enough to use time and time again, and have the advantage over plastic sacks that they let the contents breathe – helping to keep them in tip-top condition for much longer. Size 50 x 79cm (20 x 31), each sack will hold up to 25kg of potatoes.Pack of 10 hessian sacks.
Potato Harvesting Scoop £19.99
This handy tool from Burgon and Ball is a re-interpretation of the popular 19th Century potato ‘grate’. Made from stainless steel, the bar across the end of the tool prevents accidental stabbing of the potatoes, whilst the tines’ spacing and shape allows the crop to be sifted safely from the soil. Length approximately 50cm (20). Manufacturer’s 5 year guarantee.
Potato and Fruit Fertiliser £12.99
An organic based granular fertiliser with a high potash formula (in the form of Sulphate of Potash to promote superior flavour and colour), plus added Magnesium which is ideally suited to the needs of both potatoes and fruit crops. The granules ensure a slow release effect which will result in higher quality crops. N-P-K 7-5-12. 5kg.Note: Please order fertiliser with your potatoes as they will be packed and sent together.
3 Growtubs plus 3 Potato Buckets £38.90
Giant Potato Buckets – Grow a bumper crop of potatoes – even on a patio! Potato Buckets are the perfect size and shape (plant 2-3 tubers near the bottom and keep topping up the compost as they grow) and colour (absorbing the sun’s heat) to quickly produce a really heavy crop. Simply tip them out at the end of the season. Great for growing runner beans too. Height 40cm (153/4); diameter 40cm (153/4) & Growtubs – The Growtub is a complete growing unit with a built-in plant support system, reservoir and moisture retaining lid, which seals in water and helps keep the planter moist. A unique 3 cane support system can hold the heaviest and most abundant cropping plants, whilst its robust polypropylene construction ensures your Growtub stays in tip-top condition all year round. Diameter 28cm (11); height 23cm (9). Canes not included.
The Potato Book by Alan Romans £16.99
Gardening books are always a treasure as well as a great gardening resource. Sharing his ‘overwhelming enthusiasm for the humble spud’ and a lifetime’s experience in the seed potato industry, Alan Romans combines an engaging account of potato growing with an expert guide to over 150 potato varieties currently available and shows just how easy potatoes are to grow! It traces the history of the potato from its beginnings in South America to the development of variety breeding and explains all aspects of growing from choosing seed potatoes, planting and maintenance, to harvest, storage, and pests and diseases. 144 pages. 150 colour illustrations. Hardback.
I’m going to grow some potatoes in sacks again this year but have them nearest the water barrels on my plot. This will make it easier for me to water them. The potatoes are lovely from bags. I used muck and comfrey leaves last year in the bags and dropped a few potatoes in each sack and then added more manure. I think it worked well and I figured out that you can leave the sacks to dry out when the haulms die off and then you can store the spuds like that .. fold the bags over and they stay dry!