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Top Tips for: January
January in the
garden...
It may be cold outside but that's no excuse. Get out there and
finish off any digging you need to do and work off some of that
Christmas cheer. It's better than buying new trousers because your
old ones have 'shrunk' again! You'll be warm enough after a bit of
digging.
One thing though, don't dig when the soil is wet and
sticking to your boots. It damages the structure of the soil and
your back.
January is time to start potatoes so a quick lesson on
potatoes.
Some potatoes are ready to harvest quickly, around 10 weeks
and these are called 'Earlies'. Some take longer around 13
weeks and these are called 'Second Earlies' and the longest of all
but most productive per plant are 'Maincrop', which take around 20
weeks to be ready to harvest.
Not all potatoes are alike, some are great for chips and roasties,
some for mash and others make great salad potatoes. Don't worry,
your supplier should tell you which varieties are best for what.
Incidentally, when you grow your own you've over 400 varieties to
choose from. Beat that Mr Supermarket!
Having got your seed potatoes, which are just hen's egg sized
potatoes grown free from disease, you can chit them. There is no
mystery to this process. All it means is that when you get your
seed potatoes you put them in a cool but frost free place where
they get some light but not direct sunlight. A north-facing window
is ideal in a frost-free shed, we use our spare, unheated
bedroom.
The potatoes will then grow short stubby shoots, which will get
them off to a fast start when planted out in March. Some people
suggest rubbing off all but three shoots to help get larger
potatoes with the maincrops. There is some evidence that chitting
doesn't help greatly with maincrop potatoes but it certainly can't
hurt to chit them.
If you've a frost-free greenhouse (one where you can provide some
heating if it gets really cold) you can start some first earlies
off in there. They'll grow well in the border or in a plastic bag
or even a large bucket with some decent compost. Use a really fast
variety like Rocket or Swift and you'll be eating fresh new
potatoes in March.
The show growers always grow in bags using composts they formulate
themselves from peat with added fertiliser so it's quite possible
to get a crop even if you don't have a large plot.
In fact all you need is a patio and a potato barrel or planter,
some multi-purpose compost and some fertiliser to produce a crop of
the tastiest potatoes you will ever eat in just a few square feet.
Some ideas are given below to get you started:
One Potato, Two
Potato, Three Potato, Four...
Potato Patio
Planters (pack of 3)
Each durable polyethylene Potato Patio Planter is the ideal
solution for tight spaces, is easy to use, has built in drainage
holes to avoid waterlogging, has convenient carrying handles and is
re-usable.
 Potato Barrel
Grow delicious new potatoes on a patio or even a
balcony in this frost proof polypropylene Victorian Style Potato
Barrel - enjoy the convenience of being able to easily “earth
up” the potatoes and simply lift up the sides to harvest just
few at a time as required.
 Spud
Tubs
Grow potatoes on your patio or anywhere space is limited with these
easily assembled Spud Tubs, simply unclip the spud tub to gather up
your crop of potatoes then roll up and store when not in use, spud
tubs comes complete with 3 ground pegs.
 Organic Planting Bags
Conveniently sized organic planting bags complete with
the perfect soil for growing your own specific vegetables -
designed with input from top vegetable grower and Chelsea
multi-gold medallist Medwyn Williams, these Organic Vegetable Grow
Bags are almost guaranteed to deliver!..
You may wonder if it is worth bothering to grow what is, after all,
probably the cheapest vegetable in the shops. The reason is simple
– flavour. Trust me an give it a go, you won't regret
it
Copyright © John Harrison 2008
Author of the Best Selling
"Vegetable Growing
- Month by Month Guide" and
Editor of the Allotment Website: www.allotment.org.uk
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