I don't know if it's because I am often on holiday in June, but my potato plants seem to be doing particularly well this year: possibly because I'm around to tend to their every need. I wrote a piece about the benefits of growing potatoes in pots earlier this year, and I've put my money where my mouth is and planted half a dozen sacks and junk shop pots with different varieties this season. It has been handy to be able to move them around the garden at a time when we've been revamping the plot. Through necessity rather than choice, I've used a mishmash of things as a growing medium - some peat-free multipurpose compost mixed with spent compost from containers, wormcasts from my wormeries and compost from my heap. They've been getting regular feedings with the much-diluted liquid from the wormeries, and it all seems to be paying off.
This year's pleasant surprise is how good the lush foliage and flowers look, even in a rough old builder's bucket. The star of the show is undoubtedly the Salad Blue with its gorgeous pale violet flowers, pictured above. If all goes well I am looking forward to experimenting with blue chips and mash. I can't tell you exactly what other varieties I'm growing, as I've had to hide the labels below soil level to fox my 3-year-old who likes nothing better than mixing them up.
How are your potatoes doing this year?
I have three potato plants that are thriving...and about two hundred radishes (bit of a mistake really) and eight green bean plants and the rest is wild flowers for the bees. That's a beautiful potato flower above.
Posted by: Rosie | June 17, 2010 at 12:35 PM
Gosh, love the look of those flowers! Salad blue, eh? Definitely looking out for that one next year. My potatoes are about to flower (the leaves are huge!) but, as this is my novice year, I don't know what I'll get! You've given me hope now for something pretty, albeit not blue.
Posted by: Carolyn | June 18, 2010 at 03:12 PM
My early potatoes have been rubbish this year and I'm coming to the sad conclusion that plot 201 has soil so denuded of vitality that it will take several more years to get it into a potato-nourishing state. Last year the earlies did okay but the maincrops were rubbish - more green manure needed, I think!
Posted by: Allotment Blogger | June 21, 2010 at 05:17 PM
I haven't dare peek under the soil yet because we have had no rain for about a month now! Will wait until we have had some rain and then take courage!
Posted by: Matron | June 26, 2010 at 08:49 AM
very pretty....
Posted by: Dirty Girl Gardening | June 26, 2010 at 10:44 PM
Yes we grew first early Maris Bard potatoes in an assortment of recycled containers and had our first delve on 1st June producing a great crop we still have two containers to go
Posted by: landscapegardeneroxford | June 28, 2010 at 09:43 AM
I've used potato sacks before and always had a good crop. This year I tried a potato barrel and they came out just as well, if not better!
Posted by: Debbie P | September 06, 2010 at 02:15 PM