Here are the potatoes that were chitting at home for a few weeks. They are Winstons, first earlies.
And this is a shabby looking bit of the allotment that they will be planted in. The sunny March weather makes it look particularly dusty. It was dry enough not to need gum boots and the surface soil didn’t stick on my gloves. Luckily it was damp about an inch below the surface.
The soil still looks dusty but it is now dug over.
The potatoes are set out about 30cm apart in the 2 trenches. I’ve marked the rows with any old sticks found in the cane bin in the shed. Tied to the top of one is the net that the potatoes came in which has a label giving the type of potato. These labels have proved to be weather/bug proof in the past (unlike seed packets).
Earthed up and waiting for the potatoes to start sprouting in a few weeks – they were through by late April. We don’t want them shooting up into the air too soon as they could get nipped by frost and, although that’s not the end of them, it sets them back.
Doing and Making 