Monday 1 March 2021

Potato Time

Now that Eleanor and Jacob have got their own house, I'm trying to get them involved in growing some of their own food. Eleanor's seen me growing my own and used to come to the allotment when we first took it on. She was quite young then and soon grew out of wanting to help. I'm not sure whether Jacob's family are gardeners or not. I thought the best way to get them interested is to start some things in containers for them to take over the care of once they start growing.

I'd seen that one of the discount stores were selling small packs of potato tubers so I asked Eleanor to call in and choose a variety she liked the sound of, she chose Charlotte, mainly because she fancied a salad potato, one with a waxy texture, and it turns out that I grew the same potatoes last year. I've grown them a few times but last year was the first time I'd grown them in containers. The yield wasn't all that good last year but we'll try them again and see what happens this year.

They're now set out for chitting and will be planted in their containers soon. There were supposed to be eight tubers in the packet but there were actually ten, I thought that a good deal for just £1.49.

Once they've started growing I shall pass them along for Eleanor and Jacob to take over the care of. Who knows, they might decide to grow their own from scratch next year.

16 comments:

  1. I made herb pots for my youngest daughter, she did not grow anything, she loved having the herbs, but sadly now only grows flowers.

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  2. Good luck with the potatoes I hope that you get a better yield this year, I found it hard to motivate my family into any kind of gardening, I hope that Eleanor and Jacob have a good crop and are inspired to grow their own.

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  3. Brilliant idea and a good bargain. Lets hope they get the home grown bug for other things too. I can see some of your cherry tom seedlings going their way too. Last year Antoni built a raised bed and they enjoyed having a go, although they did start a little late and there were quite a few of what do we do with this Mum lol xcx

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  4. Well done. They're my favourite variety, and that's certainly good value. Last year wasn't a good year for potatoes so let's hope they do better this year. xx

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  5. Hopefully your enthusiasm will catch on and they will be enjoying their home grown potatoes before too long.

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  6. We must get organised here! It's so lovely to give Eleanor and Jacob a taste of growing their own, it'll give them a lot of pleasure in the future, especially the potato treasure hunt at the end of all the growing.

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  7. Such a good idea, I started my daughters off with herbs and tomatoes and they have all gone on to grow a few bits and pieces.

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  8. A great idea to get someone interested in growing their own food.

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  9. I hope the potatoes do well and Eleanor and Jacob continue with them successfully. It would be no use me doing anything like that, I've had any number of house plants over the years but they just end up dying as I forget to water them :(

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  10. What a great gift..They will remember these plantings and teachings their whole lives and pass them along too

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  11. I'm sure they will do well and it might just encourage Eleanor and Jacob to try growing a few different things next year. X

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  12. What a lovely thing to do for them. I’ve had good success with Charlotte in containers for several years

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  13. A great idea. What a bonus getting the extra tubers. xxx

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  14. That's a lovely idea, I hope that Eleanor and Jacob have a good crop and may grow other things too.

    All the best Jan

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  15. That is a brilliant idea Jo. Get the plants past germination and the 'danger of death' stage, and then pass the pots on when they're more robust. Once E&J have built up confidence with a couple of years of success they can think about starting plants as well.

    (Unless of course they have started growing something else and gardening become's Granny's responsibility - please delete this if I have been too cheeky 😉)

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  16. I hope they get a good crop. If I did that for my girls they would probably put them outside and forget about them! None of them are really interested in growing things, which is a shame.

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