Christmas parcels of the seedy variety

My Heritage Seed Library order and my seed potatoes from the Organic Gardening Catalogue both showed up this week, causing inordinate levels of joy in my neighbourhood (well, for me, anyway).

The spuds I have gone for this year are a blight resistant early called Orla (not one I have tried before) and my old favourite, the salad potato Pink Fir Apple. Between them, my small household should be stocked with potatoes for a third to a half of the year, which isn't bad. For the moment they are sitting in the dark a cardboard box in my cool, damp-free garage: in a few weeks I'll start to chit them (click here for the lowdown on what chitting is and how you do it).

The HSL order included a tomato called Whippersnapper, Bronze Arrow lettuce, dwarf French beans called Mr Brooks Blue Bean and the rather more widely known as Hutterite Soup, Southampton Wonder cabbage, and the turnip Black Sugarsweet, plus my "lucky dip", a tomato known as Sub Arctic Plenty. (As an aside, you may like to know that Black Sugarsweet has been the subject of a House of Commons question back in 1996 about seed list regulations.)

Now I am just itching to get going and get growing. Now the winter solstice is over, I feel like we're over the worst, as it's getting lighter by the day: that means more time for allotment work.

As a total aside (and what is blogging about if not interesting digressions?) if you're a fan of globe artichokes, can I recommend the marinated whole ones they sell in the Italian deli Gazzano's, near the Guardian offices in London? They are divine, if a little pricey. A perfect Boxing Day treat, with some sliced ham and pickles, don't you know.

Comments

[Jess]

Hi

I grew Orla this season. Enormous yield, good taste, great spud. They boil well and also bake nicely. Highly recommended. I'm growing them again this year, plus Arran Victory, Red Duke of York (the best tasting new potato in the world, IMHO!) and Desiree.

[Jane Perrone]

Great to hear! I tried Red Duke of York a couple of years ago but it didn't do very well ... maybe I should try again!