Sam29/4/04 9:25


The Mediterranean sea around Naxos is warmer all the year around than
the gulf stream's maximum temp around the C.I.s

Interestingly they seem not too disimilar for mean temps particularly in May
according to these sites

http://www.koufonisi.com/en/weather.shtml

and

http://www.jerseymet.gov.je/

Rainfall is noteably higher in Jersey during April/May which would be a
distinct advantage when growing spuds.

Sam

From the official website:
"ersey Royals have been grown on Jersey for over one hundred years. Today
there are approximately 90 island farmers who grow Jersey Royals, many of
whom grow potatoes and no other crops. The potatoes are grown on
approximately 19,000 vergees (there are 2.2 vergees to one acre, so this
equates to 8,636 acres).

The Jersey soil is light and well drained and many farmers still use seaweed
harvested from Jersey beaches as a natural fertilizer (it is known locally
as Vraic). Jersey has some of the most formidable tidal flows in the world,
and the strong movement of the sea deposits large quantities of vraic on the
shore. The practice of using vraic on the land dates back to the 12th
century.

The Jersey Royal season begins in November with planting under glass. The
main crop is planted outdoors in January and harvesting begins in April
through to the end of June. The peak of the season is May, when up to 1,500
tonnes of Royals are exported daily, and the grower can be working up to a
twelve-hour day.

Potatoes planted on the early slopes are hand lifted, with mechanical
lifters used only for the later, flatter fields. The fields on slopes near
the coast * known as côtils * are so steep that almost all the work is done
by hand.

Once harvested, the level of care continues at each stage. In the packing
sheds Jersey Royals are checked twice by workers and quality controllers
before being packed and loaded into refrigerated vans for export. The
potatoes are packed in the evening, shipped overnight and are in the
supermarkets and shops the very next day to ensure that consumers are buying
them when they are at their freshest and finest.

Besides being unique to Jersey, the Jersey Royal is the only British fresh
produce which enjoys EU protection of designation of origin in much the same
way that France was granted sole use of the word Œchampagne¹. The Place of
Destination Origin (PDO) is an official recognition granted by the EU to
protect the product as it is produced in its country of origin. In other
words, if a batch of potatoes doesn¹t have the PDO it isn¹t the genuine
article. "
http://www.jerseyroyals.co.uk/
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)