The SALGA Potato Day heralds the beginning of the growing season, and as such is eagerly awaited and well attended by growers. This year was no exception, and the area around Gorse Hill Community Centre where it's held was packed when I arrived.
Apart from not missing out on next year's event if you didn't attend this one, it's also useful to let you know about the fabulous SALGA, it's an amazing organisation, if you're not already a member, it's well worth joining. Their website gives lots of information .
So what is a seed potato day? As you can probably see from the poster, it's an opportunity to buy potatoes suitable for planting in your allotment or garden in the spring, to harvest in the summer depending on the variety. The brilliant thing about this event is that it gives you a chance to try growing lots of different varieties of potato, up to 60 in fact. If only I could label them properly once in the ground, I'd know if they were first early, to be harvested in June, or main crop, to be harvested in August. Plus I'd know which to buy next year. None of this happens in my case, labels get lost or impossible to read, and I dig potatoes when the tops die back.
I've photographed the potatoes I bought, 55 in all which seems quite a lot, but I got carried away by the choice and descriptions of potatoes. I've got 6 Arran Pilot potatoes, first grown in 190, they're first earlies and bottom right in the photo. Also 4 Athlete potatoes blight resistant second earlies, and 6 Casablanca which are organic blight resistant first earlies. Also 4 Jazzy potatoes again second early, 4 Lady Christl again these are first early. The 5 Picassos will give me some early maincrop. 5 Ratte are again early maincrop apparently nutty flavour with a slightly knobbly appearance. I also bought 6 Setanta early maincrop and 6 Vales Sovereign again early maincrop. If I can sort out a way of labelling them once planted, I'll work out which potatoes I like best.
Potatoes can't be planted yet because their green shoots are vulnerable to frosts, so they must be planted at the beginning of April. In the meantime they are sitting in the light 'chitting' that means the 'eyes' on the potatoes begin to grow small shoots as you might be able to see from the photo.
The next gardening event ahead of the actual getting out into the garden properly is the Seed Swap:
Make sure it's in the diary, organised by Incredible Edible Swindon last year, it was a brilliant event.
Also the Swindon Growers group meet every other month in the Beehive, you're always guaranteed an interesting chat with like minded people, and you can talk about growing things without the listener glazing over. Incredible Edible's calendar provides a useful tool for finding out what's going on.
Apart from not missing out on next year's event if you didn't attend this one, it's also useful to let you know about the fabulous SALGA, it's an amazing organisation, if you're not already a member, it's well worth joining. Their website gives lots of information .
Potatoes can't be planted yet because their green shoots are vulnerable to frosts, so they must be planted at the beginning of April. In the meantime they are sitting in the light 'chitting' that means the 'eyes' on the potatoes begin to grow small shoots as you might be able to see from the photo.
The next gardening event ahead of the actual getting out into the garden properly is the Seed Swap:
Also the Swindon Growers group meet every other month in the Beehive, you're always guaranteed an interesting chat with like minded people, and you can talk about growing things without the listener glazing over. Incredible Edible's calendar provides a useful tool for finding out what's going on.
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