Bambino, Orla and Cara Potatoes

Bambino, Orla & Cara Potatoes

Apologies for not posting any news for sometime, I am in the progress of upgrading my blog and its taking a little longer than expected. So here’s a few catch up posts of what going on in my Vegetable Plot at the moment.

Potatoes

Four weeks ago I planted my Bambino and Orla Potato tubers in pots. This week the foliage has started to appear above the soil in the pots which were filled one third full of soil.

I have decided to grow the following varieties this year:

Bambino – Organic Salad Potato
It is a light and creamy but less waxy variety to other new potatoes. It has good resistance to tuber and foliage blight and scab.

Orla – Organic 1st Early
A reliable 1st early with good disease resistance to blight and scab. It is oval with white skin and creamy flesh.

Cara – Organic Late Maincrop
Cara is a soft, robust and waxy potato suitable for baking and roasting. It has a good resistance to eelworm, drought and blight. It is an oval variety with creamy flesh and pink eyes.

Cara will be planted out into pots this weekend.

Bambino and Orla in pots

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This post has now moved to my new site iGrowVeg.com.
Please view the new post on the link below:

• Growing New Potatoes in Pots

Sowing, Harvesting & Big Plot Update 18.07.08

Today I Will Mostly Be Sowing:

• Dwarf Beans – ‘borlotto’,
• Broad Beans – ‘the sutton’,
• Peas – ‘ambassador’,
• Pak Choi – ‘riko white’.

Today I Will Mostly Be Harvesting:

• New Potato’s – ‘lady christl’ and ‘charlotte’,
• Cabbage – ’spring hero’ and ‘advantage’,
• Dwarf Beans – ‘borlotto’,
• Dwarf Beans – ‘ferrari’,
• Lettuce – ‘balmoral’ leaves,

Vegetables in Progress

• Tomato’s – ‘Green Zebra’,



• Cucumber’s – ‘Marketmore’,



• Broccoli ‘tenderstem’,

Plot Progress – Week 23

Plot 1
Carrots, red spring onion and beetroot are growing stronger from sowings made on 1st June 2008. Runner beans are slowly wrapping themselves around the canes. Parsnip foliage is going wild. Sowed Pak Choi into the gaps.

Plot 2
Tenderstem Broccoli nearly ready to pick, cabbage resolution savoy and golden acre are growing well after transplanting, still a few sacrificial cabbages of ‘advantage’ variety to attract the cabbage white butterflies to lay their eggs on (and not on my newly transplanted ones – seems to be working so far).

Plot 3
Broad Beans and Mange tout removed after harvesting. New sowings of peas, broad beans and dwarf beans under cloche (mainly due to cats digging bare soil). 2 x butternut squash plants doing well after transplant. Brussels sprout plants wedged in between dwarf beans but are growing steady.

Tomato and Cucumbers (outdoors)
Tomato’s have been tied to the canes and pots placed into upside down propagator lids. This has helped as this fence is a sun trap and dries the plants out daily, I pour water into the lids so the plant takes the water from its roots when necessary and doesn’t dry out. All tomato plants are flowering and some are fruiting. Cucumbers are rambling over the decking and are producing flowers and fruit.

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This post has now moved to my new site iGrowVeg.com.
Please view the new post on the link below:

• Sowing, Harvesting & Big Plot Update 18.07.08

One Potato, two potato, three potato, four…

Today I was mostly planting my potato tubers which have been chitting on the spare bedroom windowsill since 24th February. I have chosen 2 varieties this year, the first is the classic new potato ‘charlotte’ which is reliable and tasty and I think you can’t beat its taste when put with butter and mint. This variety takes 12 – 16 weeks to grow so I will be harvesting between 21st June and July 20th 2008.

The second variety I have chosen is Lady Christl, which I haven’t tried before. It is an extra early and is a well flavored variety and I chose it as it is ready to eat in 10 weeks which is 7th June 2008.

I have planted 5 tubers in each pot. I have 2 pots of Charlotte and 3 pots of Lady Christl.

Please click on this link if you would like to know How To Grow Potato’s In Pots.

Click here to find out how my potatoes grew last year and what type of harvest I had.

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This post has now moved to my new site iGrowVeg.com.
Please view the new post on the link below:

• One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four

Today I will mostly be Sowing Broad Beans and Peas..

Today I was mostly concentrating on sowing in Plot 3. I pulled out the summer lettuce which was running to seed, raked over the bed and sowed 2 small rows of ‘The Sutton’ Broad Beans. This dwarf variety is particularly good for the smaller garden, as it doesn’t require as much staking as other taller varieties.

I also sowed some Pea First Early Douce Provence Seeds in a small quarter in Plot 3 as well.

Week 23 16.09.07 Plot Report

This week I will mostly be harvesting yet more runner beans! and plenty of tomato’s.

My tomato plants dispite looking very dishevelled because I have occassionally forgotten to water them are still producing a harvest of red and yellow fruit.

My Maris Peer xmas potatoes have loved the recent warm weather and have shot up above the pot with just 3 weeks of growth. I have now earthed them up with compost to the top of the pots.

Crops Progress

• Mini Leeks - 10 weeks growth and growing strong as they are protected behind the chicory. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 15 weeks growth.
• Chicory - 10 weeks with lots of leaf growth and no slugs!…. yet. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• First sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots - 10 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• Second sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots – 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Turnip (Atlantic) - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 8-10 weeks.
• Pak Choi - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Cabbage – Advantage (spring greens) – 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: December after 20 weeks.
• Cabbage – Spring Hero - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: April/May 2008

Reminder of Cold Weather on the way.

After watching BBC1’s Countryfile on Sunday I saw the temperatures over the UK would be tumbling this week which reminded me to buy some fleece. I bought some Horticultural Fleece for the vegetable plot and my potato buckets 3m x 6m for £5.28 incl P&P from Ebay seller ‘All Seasons Gardener’.

Below are the Week 23 picture updates of my 3 vegetable plots.

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This post has now moved to my new site iGrowVeg.com.
Please view the new post on the link below:

• Week 23 16.09.07 Plot Report

Week 21 Growth Report

Week 21 02.09.07 – This week I will mostly be growing…

• Sweet Baby Peppers Sown 31.03.07 have been very slow growing this year but as you can see from the photo growth is finally speeding up.
• Mini Leeks (8 weeks growth),
• Autumn King 2 Carrots (8 weeks growth)
• Chicory (8 weeks growth)
• Turnip ‘Atlantic’ (1 weeks growth)
• Pak Choi ‘Riko F1′ (1 weeks growth)
• Lambs Lettuce ‘Jade’ (1 weeks growth)
• Radish ‘French Breakfast’ intercropped with the chicory (1 weeks growth),
• Runner Beans ‘Red Rum and White Lady’ (still harvesting daily – Week 17 growth),
• Tomato ‘Roma, Tornado and yellow bell’ (still harvesting every few days)
• Xmas Potatoes ‘ Maris Peer’ (1 weeks growth in tubs).

Please click here to see a slideshow of the progress of my seedlings mentioned in the list above.

The pictures below show my 3 back garden vegetable plots on 02.09.07 Week 21.

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This post has now moved to my new site iGrowVeg.com.
Please view the new post on the link below:

• Week 21 Growth Report