The Humble Potato
Potato Challenge – Chris Snell will leave potato tubers and growing bags outside 6 The Parklands for villagers to help themselves and enter the Scruton Allotments Potato Challenge. You will need your own growing medium and if kept watered and fed, the potatoes should be ready by August, when, if it is possible to meet, you could enter your bag in the Allotments Competition to produce the biggest weight of potatoes.
Malcolm Barker – writes about his potatoes, ‘I do not use chemical sprout suppressants on my potatoes. I keep them dormant throughout the winter by opening the potato shed door on frost free nights (closing it again if frost appears) which stops the potatoes from sprouting by natural means. As the weather has become warmer over the past few weeks, potatoes are now trying to push out sprouts to create new roots and stems. Anyone who has sprouting potatoes can keep the tubers firm by regularly removing the sprouts, by simply rubbing them off. This stops the potato from losing nutrients and moisture into the growing sprouts.’
Malcolm can supply sacks of potatoes: £7 for 25kg or £4 for 12.5kg. Varieties are limited this late in the season, call Malcolm on 01609 748 627 for details.