"Ian B" wrote in message
...
As an experiment I am growing some spuds in a bed. You will all be
horrified to know that they came from Sainsburys, not certified seed
stock. The justification for this is that

(a) nobody anywhere nearby is growing potatoes, or veg of any kind, except
Victor, and I'm pretty certain his all come from Sainsburys as well, and
he's not right next door and

(b) it just so happened I had some sprout in the kitchen, and so for fun I
thought I'd see if they would chit properly, and they did, so I planted
them and

(c) They all said on the bags they're from Scotland, which is where the
seed potatoes come from so I'm told.

There are half a dozen Nicola, and I think the others are Carlingford; I
knew this certainly for weeks then suddenly got a mental block about what
they are, but I think they're Carlingford. Anyway, they are all sort of
early I think. That is, Sainsburys sell them in bags of teeny new
potatoes, which is how I got them in the first place.


Nicola are a second early, I don't bother earthing them up, just start
harvesting as they start to flower, but earthing up wouldn't do them any
harm if you're that way inclined.

Carlingford are an early main crop, and also used for second cropping for
Xmas new potatoes. Start cropping them when you've used the Nicola, or
earlier if you like. Some say the right time to harvest spuds is when you're
hungry.

The thing to watch now they're showing is frost which will nip the tops off
them and set them back a bit. If frost is forecast in your area, earth them
up so the tips are covered by 1" - 2" of soil, they'll know what to do then.

Steve