2 weeks without potatoes

[Odsox]

I very nearly got it right, but not quite.
We ate the last of our stored potatoes last week and have now eaten all the container grown new ones as well.
Thanks to the cold spring weather, the first earlies won't be ready for another 10 days, so it looks like meals with rice, meals with pasta and meals with bread for the next few days.
Never mind, it makes menu planning a bit more of a challenge, which as far as I'm concerned is infinitely preferable to shop bought spuds to tide us over, as they have almost certainly been sprayed with isopropyl-N-chlorophenyl carbamate to stop them from shooting in storage.... mmm tasty

Another reason to grow your own ??

[Green Aura]

I'd lie to be sympathetic but as we haven't eaten home grown spuds since Christmas I can't. So there

[Odsox]

Don't care anyway, so there.

Every cloud ... as it's a yucky day and I'm bread making anyway, I'm making fresh pasta and I will do a dried mushroom, sun dried tomato and diced ham sauce to go with it, followed by gooseberry pie and cream.
That should do nicely.

[Green Aura]

It's beautiful up here today

[Odsox]

So why aren't you outside planting twice as many potatoes than you did last year ?

[Green Aura]

[citizentwiglet]

Am annoyed that shop bought spuds are sprayed with what-you-make-call-wierd-shit, but mine STILL start sprouting the day after you buy them....

It's my first year of spuds. In planters. Arran Pilots. Have realised that they should be ready the week we are on holiday, but have been told by spud gardeners that they will wait for us.

Do I wait until the haulm flowers and dies off? Is there any benefit (as I have heard) to pinching out the first flowers to encourage more growth?

[Millymollymandy]

Just calculated that my first earlies have been in the ground for 69 days and they are supposed to be ready to eat at 70-80 days but they aren't even flowering yet or showing signs of it. Anyone know if Belle de Fontenay flower? I grew them years back but can't remember Think I'll leave them for a bit longer and yes I succumbed and bought some new potatoes last week and they were delicious! I wash mine (obviously) and as I've been ingesting that chemical all my life without growing an extra limb I don't worry about it! Plus as CT says, it doesn't stop them sprouting!

[Odsox]

Sigh.......... I hope Mrs Odsox realises what a very lucky lady she is -fresh pasta, fresh bread, yummy sauce and pud - please excuse dribble marks

Ha ha, it's not quite what it seems Susie.
True enough I made 3 loaves but Mrs Odsox had to slice them this morning between bringing me my bedside cup of coffee and going to work, (we freeze sliced loaves and then just get out however many slices we need on a daily basis).
The pastry for the pie was made by her in bulk and frozen (can't make decent pastry) and the gooseberries, although I grew them and picked them, she bottled them ... so all I had to do was open a Kilner jar.
I did make the fresh pasta though, and jolly nice it was too.

It's beautiful up here today

It's a bright sunny day here today Maggie ... mow the lawns day.
Oh by the way, I sent our yesterday's rain over to you, thought you might appreciate it.
Fair's fair.

[Odsox]

It's my first year of spuds. In planters. Arran Pilots. Have realised that they should be ready the week we are on holiday, but have been told by spud gardeners that they will wait for us.

Do I wait until the haulm flowers and dies off? Is there any benefit (as I have heard) to pinching out the first flowers to encourage more growth?

Of course they will wait for you CT, my 2 rows of first earlies will take probably over a month to dig as and when we need them,so don't worry about that.
I don't grow Arran Pilot but first earlies in general don't flower very much, it's maincrop that have lots of flowers. There are some people who remove them and some that don't ... I'm in the "don't" category as I can't be bothered and I don't think it makes that much difference, if any.

Just calculated that my first earlies have been in the ground for 69 days and they are supposed to be ready to eat at 70-80 days

Rule of thumb is that first earlies are ready 12 weeks after planting, so 84 days, but as this spring was a bit on the chilly side, I'm allowing another 10 days on top. It should be fairly easy to see when they are ready, the haulm loses it's bright green colour and starts to look a bit sad with bottom leaves taking on a yellowish tinge.
Mine have been in for 85 days are just beginning to look like that now, so won't be long

[Green Aura]