[Fleecewife]

Oh and well done for having potatoes ready this early - that's an achievement.  We are still eating stored ones - it will be ages before our earlies are eatable

[Wizard]

Hello FW can I call you FW I am no typist at all some sod his nipped in and pinched the i ah there it is on the top row  It's somewhat like that here it can become quite foggy in minutes.I know very little of the west coast but read that there is a warm strip something to do with the Gulf Stream pictures of it look amazing.I am trying to master putting a photo on here.My pal is coming round to show me I am one of those people who cannot be told for some reason but show me and I can do it straight away There is a story from where I do not know but it is true in my case a picture speaks a thousand words there is no end of times if I could make a sketch and convert it to a picture in my printer I could then send it to  ? on here Oh the things I wish for FW Silly aren't I My Tumbling Toms are not as good as last year very small only about 6" tall but nice and healthy.The Head Gardener pulled me some rhubarb two seasons ago and a bit of root came up with one stalk he said put it in a large old pot and place it in a nice sunny then the spot gets nice and shady as the sun moves round. We know the sun stands still we move round but we know what he meant When it comes winter and it dies put a fork full of crewyard muck on it and leave it and don't pull any next year If the pot is full in 2010 pull some and when it dies repot it and give it another fork full of muck Its done what he said and its called Pink Champagne and jolly good to I pulled 4 stalks .Cleaned them and put them in a Pyrex dish chopped about an inch long sprinkled some brown sugar on and a lid placed them in a medium oven for half an hour.I cannot stand rhubarb stewed to death in a saucepan like a lot of bits of string.My kidney beans of which we are very fond are 6 feet tall.If I master the photo job I will post some pictures There are some on Photobucket but I cannot find them never mind TTFN George

[Fleecewife]

Hi Wizard.  Another way to get whole rhubarb if you don't want to wind up the oven is to chop etc as you did, bring it just to the boil on the hotplate, then remove from the heat and leave it to stand with a lid on for 15 mins.  You might need to repeat this before it is cooked but the pieces stay whole and you use less power. Got to be good.
When you grow your tatties in pots, how do you earth them up?  Or do you use tyres and add more on top with more soil as they grow?  I have tried them in pots - got lots of foliage but didn't get a good crop - probably didn't water enough. FW

[Wizard]

Hello FW I have not measured a drum (5gall or as now 25 ltr ex spray drums with the tops removed) but I would suggest 18" into which I put a mix of molehills,compost and a sprinkle of low nitrogen fertilizer 9" deep.Place a tuber on the top and cover with more soil mix when the leaves come through cover them up and keep covering until until the drum is full and heaped up.Water freely Potato's like a lot of water.Today I intend to empty out a drum which has a Lady Crystl growing in it.I will report on the crop tonight and the taste as well.Hows that.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Wizard.  How was the lady Crystl crop?

[Wizard]

Good morning Fw Slightly disappointing in yield.Harvested to soon they should have been larger plenty of potato's but the weight was only 947 grams I was hoping for over a kilo.So I am leaving them another fortnight.Taste wise beautiful.We had them steamed with butter on them and on the Asparagus a pal from Riby let me have and roast pork and Madera gravy on the pork.Raspberry Crumble and cream for pudding and thats the last of the 2009 Raspberries the 2010 ones are not ready yet.another fortnight at least.I went to Brocklesby yesterday and called at the walnut trees in the park they also need another fortnight.I  saw Godfrey and gleaned some info I wanted to check on then went to view the NK project I wasn't up to a tour of the project but Jackie took Kath round and she had a grand time made her think of when we did what Jackie is doing They have a lot of work ahead but its going to be all worth while.Kath says the pigs are great.She says Jackie has had to separate the little boar from the gilts they have been biting his ears and made them bleed poor little chap.We had a really good day all round.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Wizard.  That sounds a totally delicious meal    Probably even better for it being the first potatoes.  By the time they are the right size the novelty will have worn off.  I really envy you the walnuts (saw your recipe too) - pickled walnuts are one of my favourites but the shop-bought ones are a shadow of my granny's.  None up here that I have ever seen and no point planting a tree as I will be long gone before it crops, if ever.
Interesting trip to the NK project.  Will you manage to look around another day?

[Wizard]

Hello Fleecewife I do hope so.I try to visit the Earl's Yarborough Estates and Brocklesby Farms on a weekly basis Just now at this time of the year there is nothing happening just crop spraying and that sort of thing.I do a journal for his Lordship for Xmas every year.So the things like Mowing the grass for hay and haylage we have Making and baling hay we have.The big Pottinger cutting silage and tractors leading it to the clamps we have all of these things.Last year I videoed the new baler doing straw. I am looking forward to the new combine coming it is a massive machine  with a 40ft cut Get two of them in the field  they wont be long harvesting.I went yesterday to Low Farm where Sean and Pat was spraying beans with a fungicide to combat blight.The whole farm is 350 acre or so and they started to spray at 10.30am and they had gone at 1:00pm,when we came back from Humberston.David rang me last night and said John was silaging in the field next to Lambert Hill Thats the field they use as the car park for the Country Fair.I shall have a look at the activity on the 27th most of the stuff will be there.For a bit of fun Google Brocklesby Country Fair 2010 and click the first one down 2009 Gallery There is a picture of Newsum Lake I have a video of a brand new Teleporter swimming in there.Its all a case of being there at the right time.Things like the Jenz making chips for the hall boiler I know when and where it is but I missed 2 300hp Steiger tractors being pulled by 2 Challenger Crawlers all trying to pull a big lorry out the mud at Lambert Hill 2 shows ago,What a mess the show was drowned out really and on the Monday the whole site was all churned up.But Su paddled through it with no bother.I didn't inspect Jackie's Tomato growing or the garden I don't think she has started serious gardening yet next time I go I hope I will feel able to tour the whole site.Then I will give you an unsolicited testimonial. Jackie! My toms are fine I have a little few forming on one or two of the plants in the boxes but not the hanging baskets they are only in flower It's half seven time for other things TTFN George and Kath

[Sharondp]

Back to potatoes - my soil isn't the best - can I 'earth up' with some new top soil / compost?

Tomatoes are coming on a treat!! 

[Wizard]

I wouldn't bother lass hill them up with what they are growing in.If it a strong clay inter row hoe with a Mantis if you can borrow one it will make the soil like sand.Then you can hill them up easy it will go hard again when it rains or you irrigate them a useful rule of thumb is around 15m/m per day don't forget potato's grow very near the surface so you don't need a great depth of penetration .Next Autumn dig in some strawy manure to help condition the soil.

[egbert]

I dont really have much 'spare' soil around my potatoes. I was wondering whether I could earth them up with either cut grass (would it get too hot) or wood chippings as I have a pile I am using on the flower beds.

[Fleecewife]

Wood chippings will take nitrogen from the soil, not what you want.  Grass clippings are good as long as you don't put more than a couple of inches on at a time so they have time to dry rather than go soggy and slimy.  If you can cultivate between the rows a bit, with a hoe, a spade or a rotavator if you have one and there's room, that will loosen up some more soil for earthing up.  I have found it's best to leave a good distance between rows to give enough soil for earthing up, but if space is a problem then that can't be done.
I have noticed that some varieties grow closer to the surface than others so for future years it might be worth going for those which grow deep so are less likely to turn green.