Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.

You don't need to be a member to buy but they get a discount. Aside from
that try Eden's or your local feed and produce store.

David

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.

You don't need to be a member to buy but they get a discount. Aside from
that try Eden's or your local feed and produce store.

David



Any hay and corn store will have them, but
go to the supermarket, pick out some potatos you like,
take them home and leave them in a cardboard box
they will sprout and then plant them out

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

George W. Frost wrote:

Any hay and corn store will have them, but
go to the supermarket, pick out some potatos you like,
take them home and leave them in a cardboard box
they will sprout and then plant them out

First problem is finding a "hay and corn store"
Second problems will be customs.
Third problem is that spuds sold at supermarket comes from a different
climate.
Fourth, I was hoping to grow a different variety for taste.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

David Hare-Scott wrote:
"Terryc" wrote in message
...

Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.


You don't need to be a member to buy but they get a discount. Aside from
that try Eden's or your local feed and produce store.

Eden and Green Harvest do not do potatoes.

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.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
George W. Frost wrote:

Any hay and corn store will have them, but
go to the supermarket, pick out some potatos you like,
take them home and leave them in a cardboard box
they will sprout and then plant them out

First problem is finding a "hay and corn store"

Sorry, showing my age, a produce store or anywhere they sell stuff to
farmers


Second problems will be customs.

Think they closed the custom gates between states years ago


Third problem is that spuds sold at supermarket comes from a different
climate.

Yes, usually, but pick out the spuds you want, then take them home Think you
will find they will grow almost anywhere

Fourth, I was hoping to grow a different variety for taste.

There are heaps of different spuds out there, Safeway sometimes have a
gourmet rack of potatos,

just sort through them and try a few of each till you find the one you like
better.

Only thing is instead of paying a few cents a kilo, you would be looking at
a couple of dollars per kilo

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

George W. Frost wrote:


Only thing is instead of paying a few cents a kilo, you would be looking at
a couple of dollars per kilo

I get my supermarket spuds for nix already sprouted. Bloke up the road
buys 20kg bags, for 2, with inevitable results. None of them do well,
hence the hunting around.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"George W. Frost" wrote in message
"Terryc" wrote in message
George W. Frost wrote:

Any hay and corn store will have them, but
go to the supermarket, pick out some potatos you like,
take them home and leave them in a cardboard box
they will sprout and then plant them out

First problem is finding a "hay and corn store"

Sorry, showing my age, a produce store or anywhere they sell stuff to
farmers


Second problems will be customs.

Think they closed the custom gates between states years ago

LOL. Good one! But come and clean up my mointor and keyboard, it's now
wearing my coffee!

Third problem is that spuds sold at supermarket comes from a different
climate.

Yes, usually, but pick out the spuds you want, then take them home Think
you will find they will grow almost anywhere

They will, but Sydney isn't really the right place to be growing spuds
anyway given it's climate. Spuds like cooler, less humid conditions than
Sydney so I'm not surprised that Terry is finding they cark it early.

I doubt very much that Terry will be able to find any spuds in Oz that are
grown as seed spuds in a climate similar to Sydney as all the areas where
seed spuds are grown (like Crookwell and in Victoria) don't have a climate
anything like Sydney's.

Fourth, I was hoping to grow a different variety for taste.

There are heaps of different spuds out there, Safeway sometimes have a
gourmet rack of potatos,

That is how I got my Purple Congos and Kipflers.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

FarmI wrote:

They will, but Sydney isn't really the right place to be growing spuds
anyway given it's climate. Spuds like cooler, less humid conditions than
Sydney so I'm not surprised that Terry is finding they cark it early.

Most varieties do not produce much, aka 100gm seed gives 10gm spud.

Kiplers are the only ones that have hung in there, but I suspect we have
inadvertently kept selecting the smaller ones each year. So, we will
probably buy new seed stock of them.

Funnily, the best method here, seems to be the old tyre stack, so we
will try more of that in future. I also have to fill the upper tyres
with dry straw and nothing else.

I doubt very much that Terry will be able to find any spuds in Oz that are
grown as seed spuds in a climate similar to Sydney as all the areas where
seed spuds are grown (like Crookwell and in Victoria) don't have a climate
anything like Sydney's.

This is why heritage varieties/strains are important. They often grow in
wider environments than modern, pampered varieties.

That is how I got my Purple Congos and Kipflers.

We also have tried Desiree, Toolangi Delight, Pink Eye(?) and others
(the dreaded clean up monster threw out the bags). Pink eyes might be
worth another go in the tyres as it slowly petered out.

Thankfully, we have a new permaculture group locally and seed sharing is
happening, so we might be able to obtain a good local variety there.

OTOH, I've managed to get some nice corn growing this year. Just
wondering how long after the silk dries off before I should try picking?
And does a corn plant produce cobs concurrently or consecutively?

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"Terryc" wrote in message
FarmI wrote:

I doubt very much that Terry will be able to find any spuds in Oz that
are grown as seed spuds in a climate similar to Sydney as all the areas
where seed spuds are grown (like Crookwell and in Victoria) don't have a
climate anything like Sydney's.

This is why heritage varieties/strains are important. They often grow in
wider environments than modern, pampered varieties.

I think you misunderstood what I meant.

Seed spuds, whether of heritiage or newer varieties, are all grown in the
same areas in Australia so the source is the same whether they are pampered
or heritage. In NSW those seed spuds are grown in places like Crookwell,
Orange and Guyra.

That is how I got my Purple Congos and Kipflers.

We also have tried Desiree, Toolangi Delight, Pink Eye(?) and others (the
dreaded clean up monster threw out the bags). Pink eyes might be worth
another go in the tyres as it slowly petered out.

Thankfully, we have a new permaculture group locally and seed sharing is
happening, so we might be able to obtain a good local variety there.

You should be able to find out from them which varieties people have found
have done well for them in the local area, but I would be absolutley amazed
if they have not sourced their spuds at some time or another from the seed
potato growing areas in one or other State of Australia.

OTOH, I've managed to get some nice corn growing this year. Just wondering
how long after the silk dries off before I should try picking?

Corn is one of the very few plants which can be picked even before it ripens
and thus when the silks are green. It isn't optimum at that stage but the
worst thing is to let it go too long after the silk has turned brown -
better to pick the lot and freeze it than leave it on the stalks. To long
and it's only good to throw to the chooks.

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

Terryc wrote:

Funnily, the best method here, seems to be the old tyre stack, so we
will try more of that in future. I also have to fill the upper tyres
with dry straw and nothing else.


That makes sense, potato roots like a cool moist, but well drained, soil
that is rich in compost, but the top of the plant prefers a warm dry
environment.

The method you describe should make the most of the climate in Sydney, just
make sure the stacks are in a very sunny spot with good airflow and keep
the soil just moist. If you cover the tires with something white it will
help keep the roots cool and reflect the light up into the leaves where it
is needed.

If you get the microclimate perfect you will get the most out of the plants,
even if they die back faster than they would in an ideal climate.

If you want to find a spud that grows well in your area then you could try
growing them from seed (yes SEED) the first year you will only get tiny
potatoes, but the genetic diversity with be very high, then select the best
performers to plant (the tubers) for the next year. it could take you a few
years to get a better adapted plant, but it is possible.

Check out this web site,
http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.co...erminated.html

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
David Hare-Scott wrote:
"Terryc" wrote in message
...

Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.


You don't need to be a member to buy but they get a discount. Aside
from
that try Eden's or your local feed and produce store.

Eden and Green Harvest do not do potatoes.

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.

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 :-)

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 ;-)

my best taties this year are the "volunteers" from last year (yes, i know i
should have killed them, but i didn't). i also have sebagos growing in a
flower bed & can't seem to find the end of them. which would be fine, except
i'm not really into sebagos. nevertheless, clearly _they_ like it here,
which seems to be the key. besides the sebagos, have tried 4 varieties, all
of which were a little disappointing for one reason or another, the odd
individual plant being exceptions.

the best ones were desirees from the ag shop, even though they got scab they
ended up the best. the worst two were from diggers (royal blue & another so
underwhelming i've forgotten what they were).

in short, you might have to just keep trying different varieties until you
get a good result!!

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. you are unlikely to get much of a choice of varieties
though. however, i personally decided that they are so little trouble that
if you get a small crop or something goes wrong, it's really not the end of
the world. it works out, or it doesn't. some nurseries will sell them too.

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?)
kylie

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
"Terryc" wrote in message
...
David Hare-Scott wrote:
"Terryc" wrote in message
...

Need to purchase some new seed potatoes.
Recommendations?

Not Diggers as I understand you need to be a member.


You don't need to be a member to buy but they get a discount. Aside
from
that try Eden's or your local feed and produce store.

Eden and Green Harvest do not do potatoes.

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.

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 :-)

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 ;-)

my best taties this year are the "volunteers" from last year (yes, i know
i should have killed them, but i didn't). i also have sebagos growing in a
flower bed & can't seem to find the end of them. which would be fine,
except i'm not really into sebagos. nevertheless, clearly _they_ like it
here, which seems to be the key. besides the sebagos, have tried 4
varieties, all of which were a little disappointing for one reason or
another, the odd individual plant being exceptions.

the best ones were desirees from the ag shop, even though they got scab
they ended up the best. the worst two were from diggers (royal blue &
another so underwhelming i've forgotten what they were).

in short, you might have to just keep trying different varieties until you
get a good result!!

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. you are unlikely to get much of a choice of
varieties though. however, i personally decided that they are so little
trouble that if you get a small crop or something goes wrong, it's really
not the end of the world. it works out, or it doesn't. some nurseries will
sell them too.

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?)
kylie


You only get hysterical and paranoid when you smoke that green stuff

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

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. Around here, we grow stuff that others struggle with and we
struggle trying to grow their easy stuff.

And then the weather changes and you are left scratching your head again.


my best taties this year are the "volunteers" from last year

This is probably part of the reason we have small spuds anyway. We have
volunteers that must start from extremely small left overs as we very
thoroughly sift the soil for each crop.


in short, you might have to just keep trying different varieties until you
get a good result!!

That is the basic plan.

but personally, i'd either just be a cheapskate & save them myself,

The desired outcome.then I know I have a strain that grows well in my soil.

OR, get them at the ag shop;

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

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.

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.

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?

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

Seed potatoes, Sydney, NSw, Australia, where?
 

"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.

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/

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

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

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

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.

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).

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...)

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.

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/

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/

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.

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/

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.

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/

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)