Potatoes - the new season- Sun-bathing Scots'

 

As the British media tell the world that Britain is being torn apart by gales, storms, white-out blizzards, floods, disaster after disaster, impassable roads due to floods and snow, some Scots are sun-bathing under a deep blue sky.

But down on the farm, and in the garden, this is the time of year to think about the variety of potatoes one will grow this year.
 

So far we have purchased four varieties that we intend to start sowing  on Good Friday. Good Friday is a traditional day for planting.

 

Chicago. Developed in 2009 as a main crop and raised in England by Cygnet PB Ltd. It is used in the crisp industry, and its kitchen use is for mash, roasting, and chips. It is said to have a heavy yield. This variety has good resistance to both golden and white eelworm, and tolerates heat and drought.

 

Foremost. We have grown these before with some success. Though they date from 1954 I do not believe that my father ever grew them. They are first earlies, have a waxy flesh and are used for baking boiling and roasting. We have found that the yield is not as good as we hoped. I read now, that the foliage cover is not good, and certainly we have found this, but I have put it down to poor irrigation on my part. I read that it is a variety that does not like stressful conditions or cold.

 

Nadine. This will be the second time we have grown these. Developed in 1987 as a second early and raised by Jack Dunnett in Scotland. They have a waxy flesh and are used for baking chipping, mash and good boiled. They are resistant to scab, sprang, drought, slugs, and foliage blight. 

 

When we last grew them the yield was poor, and this was due to drought, even though it is a variety that is tolerant of drought. We have chosen them again because of their resistance to drought and slugs. And for us, they tasted good.

 

On the farm they produce 60-70 tonnes per hectare, and under ideal conditions tonnage has been as much as 100 per hectare.

 

Yukon Gold. We have grown these previously without much success. My brother is growing them in the midlands and has had previous success. An attraction is that they are resistant to slugs.

 

They are an early maincrop and date from 1980 developed in Canada by Agriculture Canada. They are good for baking, chipping, and boiling.

 

. . . . .

 

What is a success for us can be a disaster for others. The seed for Foremost is becoming harder  to obtain, so in time, I suspect,  it will not be produced for commercial purposes. Nadine is a heavy yielding variety that lends itself to modern farming, therefore, as long as the supermarkets like it, it is here to stay. Chicago is still in what can be called a commercial  trial period. Yukon Gold is a good commercially farmed potato.

 

Ideally a  six or seven year rotation should be aimed for, though this is impractical for most gardeners.

 

We do not intend to sow many this year. The plan, at the moment, is to go for broad beans, French climbing beans, and peas. Over the last few years we have produced excellent onions and finished using the last of the red ones last week. We will grow them again this year. Our garlic crop was excellent last year and one is tempted to grow more this year.

 

The Greenhouse.  Ours has a lemon tree, avocado, chillies and a small olive tree in it, among other plants. So, before we can clean and sterilise it we have to move the in situ plants., and that will not be until we can be sure that frosts are over.

 

We intend to grow the usual quantity of tomatoes that are bottled and frozen. Last year we had a greater harvest of aubergines, so this year, as they are one of my favourites, we will grow more. Chillies, of different heats, will be a feature again. We had a serious glut of cucumbers last year and had problems

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

Down on the farm the new fencing works a treat.

The new fencing works a treat.

Trees with mistletoe

 

After an interesting morning with clients and negotiating heavy traffic caused by  a lorry crashing through the central reservation and closing the motorway,  it was a pleasure to walk down to see what  little remains of the lime avenue. These aged lime trees produced the customary show of mistletoe, and now, in mid  February, the berries have been eaten by birds.

All parts mistletoe, Viscum album to the cognoscenti, are toxic if eaten. Nevertheless, it has medicinal uses. It is used internally for treatment of arteriosclerosis, insomnia, tinnitus, and in the treatment of cancer of the lungs and ovaries.  Externally it is used for rheumatism  and leg ulcers.

Cyclamen and hellibores growing among the beech trees

 

Cyclamen growing among the beech trees

 

 

The Hellebores look extraordinarily good this year. All parts of this plant are toxic if eaten and too much handling may cause systemic poisoning. Wear  gloves when cutting the leaves back. Though poisonous it does have medicinal uses. It is used, in the form of alkaloids, to treat heart conditions in the elderly. It can also cause abortions in pregnant women.

 

In the garden snowdrops among the rasberry canes

 

We have not had any of the snow that was forecast, we have though, had some cold weather. This      years snowdrops are late. These are shown growing among the raspberry canes that we have fed with   horse dung. The celandines are up, and hopefully will give as good a display as in previous years.

 

Snowdrops should not be eaten. Celandines, Chelidonium, are for some a perennial weed. The sap from them is orange and is a tradition treatment for warts and corns when dabbed on them. When freshly picked they can be used in infusions or tinctures. Medicinally it is used as an anti inflammatory herb, it stimulates the uterus and circulatory system, it is also used as an anti-spasmodic and laxative. There are numerous other uses, but it should not be given to pregnant women.

 

This part of the garden is particularly cold and, during January, does not receive any sunlight, even on the brightest day. Yet, as the sun rises into the sky the raspberry bed changes. With the snowdrops we have daffodils and primroses that bloom in March, and by then, raspberries are beginning to move upwards. We pick the fruit from July through to November, almost on a daily basis. The sun rises to give them warmth and light from the beginning of February.

 

Of course we are harassed by blackbirds that defend their right to eat the juicy red berries. Our cat is now fifteen years old and cannot deter them in the way he used, so last year, we resorted to partial netting. The cat sometimes chases blackbirds but is never successful in catching them.