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Old 16-02-2008, 12:15 PM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

I might look at Diggers again in Jun which is when they say tubers will be
available, but really need another source. 6/7 varieties from diggers have
not done well here, aka they die off fast.


When did you plant them?

i got some from diggers with the same result (in fact, i'm a tad
disenchanted with diggers all around, but that's another story). bear in
mind their nursery is located in a virtual plant heaven - where most of us
live, it's not, really :-)


I'm a bit disenchanted with Diggers too. I know part of the problem is
climatic -- Diggers is in a Mediterranean climate and I am not -- but I've had
some really poor performers that should have been OK, including spuds and
garlic. And I do get a bit annoyed when half the catalogue is taken up with
Diggers staff ranting about various Causes... even if I happen to agree with
them.

potatoes are rather a mystery to me, & they caused me some outright panic
last year (but i talked myself down ;-) i hope more experience will help
with this ;-)


Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/
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Old 17-02-2008, 12:33 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
0tterbot wrote:

potatoes are rather a mystery to me, & they caused me some outright panic
last year (but i talked myself down ;-) i hope more experience will help
with this ;-)


I think everything is a mystery until you actually grow it in your plot of
land.


well, yes. but those things which grow underground are particularly
mysterious!

OR, get them at the ag shop;


We have a feed place nearby and I'll try them as the months go by.


worth trying.

only because they're more likely to have come from somewhere closer.


Trouble is that I do not know of any commercial or large scale growers
around here. Dormitory suburbs abound. The only growers are further out
and definitly asian market gardeners from what we can see.


but you don't know until you ask them. :-)

as an aside, i was watching a yank medical show one time, where a patient
had cadmium poisoning from smoking pot grown in car tyres. because of
that, i have been nervous about growing taties in car tyres lest we all
get cadmium poisoning. is there any information on this?! (am i just
being hysterical?)


Various problems
1) TV medical show =/= reality.
2) Growing pot; cue shock horror promo like teen flick horror movie
3) Reusing =/= commie subversive to american way of life.


lmao :-)

Anything on a TV show is suspect right from the start. TV is for
entertainment and propaganda. Far more interesting TV if it involves shock
horror; POT.

Practically, different plant, different family, take up different
nutrient, etc. Age of tyres, make of tyres, type of tyres, where were the
tyres manufactured. Why is cadium added to tyres?


oh, look i don't know. because americans are loons? whatever the show was, i
don't watch it regularly, so i might just carry on regardless. the reason i
DON'T watch medical shows (as a rule) is because they're so
extreme-disease-of-the-week. same with american cop shows
(extreme-serial-killer-of-the-week). etc etc.

If it really was cadium, it most likely was a contaminant in fertilisers
used. My last pack of trace elements had more contaminants that nutirients
including mercury, cadium, etc, etc, etc


THIS would actually make more sense. (heavy metals in car tyres????!)
kylie


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Old 17-02-2008, 12:39 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"0tterbot" wrote in message

but personally, i'd either just be a cheapskate & save them myself, OR,
get them at the ag shop; only because they're more likely to have come
from somewhere closer.


Just for info: I have asked at jeremy's shop where they get their spuds
and they told me that they were grown locally. I buy spuds there every
time I go in because they are such good spuds.


the "local, organic" ones in brown paper bags? i get those sometimes,
they're pretty nice. also get them from conrad sometimes (less nice ime [but
that might be the variety], & they're from crookwell or somewhere i think? i
prefer ours - i just like that fresh taste! (and free-ness). but they're not
always available of course.

jeremy's veg is actually halfway decent for supermarket veg, which is good.
mind you, i rarely buy anything there as mostly they don't have anything i
don't have (or want). the other week i was surprised to see a packet of
sugar snap peas, nearly $5 for 200g. i thought, gee, i wouldn't mind selling
my sugar snaps for $25/kg!! these ones looked like they were packed in about
1963 as well.
kylie


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Old 17-02-2008, 01:01 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-B9DCB5.22152716022008@news...

i got some from diggers with the same result (in fact, i'm a tad
disenchanted with diggers all around, but that's another story). bear in
mind their nursery is located in a virtual plant heaven - where most of
us
live, it's not, really :-)


I'm a bit disenchanted with Diggers too. I know part of the problem is
climatic -- Diggers is in a Mediterranean climate and I am not -- but I've
had
some really poor performers that should have been OK, including spuds and
garlic.


me too, with ornamentals etc that should have been ok. they do have a return
policy, but who ever bothers to do that?

And I do get a bit annoyed when half the catalogue is taken up with
Diggers staff ranting about various Causes... even if I happen to agree
with
them.


me too. i don't mind the rants - what i mind is where they act contrary to
their rants. imo you can't rant about monsanto then advocate using roundup
before sowing wildflower seeds. you can't rant about f1 hybrids & then sell
f1 hybrids. (i actually don't have a problem with f1 hybrids anyway!)

mainly my gripes are pragmatic though. 4 out of 5 orders last year just went
missing. this spring i had a couple of seeds sprout which shouldn't have
been in the packet at all. etc.


potatoes are rather a mystery to me, & they caused me some outright panic
last year (but i talked myself down ;-) i hope more experience will help
with this ;-)


Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period
in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying
to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


well, i AM trying to improve the soil & the taties do seem to really help!
beyond that though - a freshly-dug potato is a magnificent thing (i've never
got to the point of trying to store any ;-). and lastly, they are pretty
low-maintenance, so if they sit in the beds (i have pretty large beds!) for
a while it doesn't really bother me. i decided if the crop's not that big
it's not a big deal because i didn't have to put much work in.

it's things like parsnips which have me disenchanted. they take a VERRRRRY
long time, possibly to get just about nothing from them.

i completely take your point though. however, i also grow onions even though
they're the same - cheap & easy to get anywhere, without taking up room in
your garden. but again, onions are so easy i just think "why not?"
kylie


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Old 17-02-2008, 03:38 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

0tterbot wrote:

the "local, organic" ones in brown paper bags? i get those sometimes,
they're pretty nice. also get them from conrad sometimes (less nice ime [but
that might be the variety], & they're from crookwell or somewhere i think? i
prefer ours - i just like that fresh taste! (and free-ness). but they're not
always available of course.


I there any chance you two could stop these posts? {:-)
I put my great klod in my last bucket of Braidwood desk oil and need to
go down and buy more (the local outlet closed) and now you are giving me
more reasons for a trip down that way.


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Old 17-02-2008, 03:40 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

Chookie wrote:

Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


Err, if you apply that logic,then you wouldn't grow anything.

In reality it is;
1) TASTE; nothing beats stuff fresh from your garden for taste.
2)chemical content; it only has what I put on it (nil).



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Old 18-02-2008, 12:00 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
0tterbot wrote:

the "local, organic" ones in brown paper bags? i get those sometimes,
they're pretty nice. also get them from conrad sometimes (less nice ime
[but that might be the variety], & they're from crookwell or somewhere i
think? i prefer ours - i just like that fresh taste! (and free-ness). but
they're not always available of course.


I there any chance you two could stop these posts? {:-)


soooorry terry.... :-)

I put my great klod in my last bucket of Braidwood desk oil and need to go
down and buy more (the local outlet closed) and now you are giving me more
reasons for a trip down that way.


if it helps to put you off, we have already had the one day of truly
wonderful weather we are likely to get this year g!!

kylie (who is wondering how someone could put their foot in a bucket of
oil...)


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Old 18-02-2008, 05:29 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

"Terryc" wrote in message
Chookie wrote:

Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period
in the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are
trying to improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


Err, if you apply that logic,then you wouldn't grow anything.

In reality it is;
1) TASTE; nothing beats stuff fresh from your garden for taste.
2)chemical content; it only has what I put on it (nil).


Fresh grown spuds really are wonderful but spuds also aren't one of the
things that has a lot of chemicals used on them anyway.


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Old 18-02-2008, 10:58 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

In article ,
Terryc wrote:

Chookie wrote:

Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying
to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


Err, if you apply that logic,then you wouldn't grow anything.


ER, yes you would -- you'd favour vegies that are expensive to buy or that
taste significantly better fresh. Asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, sweet
corn, for example. But I'm speaking as a back yard gardener with fairly
limited space. I have grown spuds, but they weren't that rewarding IMO --
probably the drought had something to do with it. THey did improve the soil a
bit, but I think the parsnips are doing an even better job.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/
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Old 18-02-2008, 11:04 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

me too. i don't mind the rants - what i mind is where they act contrary to
their rants. imo you can't rant about monsanto then advocate using roundup
before sowing wildflower seeds. you can't rant about f1 hybrids & then sell
f1 hybrids. (i actually don't have a problem with f1 hybrids anyway!)


So I wasn't imagining it, then. Thought they couldn't be that hypocritical...

mainly my gripes are pragmatic though. 4 out of 5 orders last year just went
missing. this spring i had a couple of seeds sprout which shouldn't have
been in the packet at all. etc.


I've only ever had one problem and it was rectified promptly -- yes, it was
improperly packed.

it's things like parsnips which have me disenchanted. they take a VERRRRRY
long time, possibly to get just about nothing from them.


Ah -- there is a trick to them, which I heard about from Margaret Simons in
her lovely little book "Wheelbarrows, chooks and children". You need to let
the parsnips go to seed.

Once they go to seed, you have a seed-bank in the soil. They will pop up
everywhere and grow decently, because the better-adapted ones will survive.
Every now and again, let a few more go to seed (yes, I know it's hard...) to
keep the process going.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/


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Old 19-02-2008, 02:39 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

Chookie wrote:
In article ,
Terryc wrote:


Chookie wrote:


Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying
to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


Err, if you apply that logic,then you wouldn't grow anything.



ER, yes you would -- you'd favour vegies that are expensive to buy or that
taste significantly better fresh.


The taste is the reason here. Also relaxing activity, most of the time.

Asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, sweet
corn, for example.


But I'm speaking as a back yard gardener with fairly limited space.


Same here. I am not really prepared to do what my grandfather did and
have the veges right up to the back door.

I have grown spuds, but they weren't that rewarding IMO --
probably the drought had something to do with it. THey did improve the soil a
bit, but I think the parsnips are doing an even better job.


We tend to like trying new stuff as well as rolling over old reliables.
Our major problem is stuff below the ground is only small. We still need
to crack the problem.

We are currently debating 4 tonne of river sand to improve drainage, The
beds are raised 2'-4' but it is heavy clay derived soil and I think some
stuff just doesn't like it.

Also, might be the continual rain of gum leaves, but the tree is
definitely staying.




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Old 20-02-2008, 12:58 PM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

In article ,
Terryc wrote:

Our major problem is stuff below the ground is only small. We still need
to crack the problem.

We are currently debating 4 tonne of river sand to improve drainage, The
beds are raised 2'-4' but it is heavy clay derived soil and I think some
stuff just doesn't like it.


Correct. Carrots will fork in clay soil; they grow happily in a bucket of
sand. Most root crops produce well in soil they can get through fairly
easily.

I'd go for raising the beds -- if you have a 2" bed you will have 2" carrots,
and so on. Nothing wrong with adding SOME sand, as long as you are getting it
cheap and it is fairly coarse. Fine sand will just wash out of raised beds,
unless there is lots of organic matter to hold it in place. I'd be going for
straw and manure, personally.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/
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Old 20-02-2008, 02:53 PM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

Chookie wrote:
I'd be going for straw and manure, personally.


Unfortunately, all the cheap/free sources are a bit lacking in the
manure part.

The rabbit and horse bedding I can get is 90% wood shavings.

But, we keep piling it on and it is slowly working for other stuff.


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Old 21-02-2008, 06:35 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

In article ,
Terryc wrote:

Chookie wrote:
I'd be going for straw and manure, personally.


Unfortunately, all the cheap/free sources are a bit lacking in the
manure part.

The rabbit and horse bedding I can get is 90% wood shavings.


I think that's pretty much right -- doesn't compost need one part nitrogenous
matter to 9 parts carboniferous?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/
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Old 01-03-2008, 06:31 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?

Chookie writes:
Why bother growing spuds? They take up a lot of space for a long period in
the vegie patch but are pretty cheap to buy. Very good if you are trying to
improve your soil, but I don't think I'd bother otherwise.


For the taste. Fresh homegrown spuds have an entirely different taste
compared with the field spuds sold in supermarkets. Besides, their price
of spuds (was $3.99/kg, now $2.99/kg) makes them worth growing. That's
the same price as apples. Better to grow potatoes, which don't require
spraying and are immune to attack from flying foxes and parrots and
are somewhat safe from hail, and let the farmer manage all the trouble
involved in growing your fruit.

The only real hazard facing potatoes is prolonged wet soil.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)
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