Potato Days 2010

[Jillyreeves]

A pleasure.... we should have arranged for attending Grapes to have a cuppa! Are you in the photos by chance, hit and miss... I was there about 12.30. It was actually much busier than my snaps suggest as I waited for little lulls so that the potatoes were visible else it would have been pictures of people's backs! I have now posted details about the Transition Network under "General Chit Chat". bb.

No Im not in the photos

I was there at around 1pm, it was very busy then too.

A cuppa would have been fantastic

[Jillyreeves]

More photos here :-)

January 2010 - Potato Day | Transition Chesterfield

Not on these either. Are you Bazzaboy or Zaz ???????

[zazen999]

More photos here :-)

January 2010 - Potato Day | Transition Chesterfield

Not on these either. Are you Bazzaboy or Zaz ???????

Rats!!! Yes I am

I'm in the 'happy shoppers' shot - the chap in front of the Pay Here sign is my chum one of the organisers - and I'm the one in the black hat chatting to him....Jacks [on the seed circle] is next to me.

Luckily, we are pretty much obscured by someone else......phew!

We were in just after 10:30 and out of the car park and on the way home at about 11:30...

Tattie - if you look at the first picture on that link, each box has stickers so that instead on writing on the bags, you can just peel a sticker off and stick it to your bag. When I got home, I just tore it off that bag and put it in the bottom of the eg box so I know which is which when I plant out. Great idea!!!

[Jillyreeves]

Rats!!! Yes I am

I'm in the 'happy shoppers' shot - the chap in front of the Pay Here sign is my chum one of the organisers - and I'm the one in the black hat chatting to him....Jacks [on the seed circle] is next to me.

Luckily, we are pretty much obscured by someone else......phew!

We were in just after 10:30 and out of the car park and on the way home at about 11:30...

Drat and double drat, can hardly see you or Jacks

Just as I was leaving some one was taking more photos, I think it was your friend Zaz, might be worth an ask to check if it was and if he/you could post them on here too

[bazzaboy]

More photos here :-)

January 2010 - Potato Day | Transition Chesterfield

Not on these either. Are you Bazzaboy or Zaz ???????

That might be me on p. 1 no. 11 "Mr Potato" (I don't take a very good photo....) Otherwise, no, unlike John Terry I escaped unscathed... bb.

[zazen999]

Drat and double drat, can hardly see you or Jacks

Just as I was leaving some one was taking more photos, I think it was your friend Zaz, might be worth an ask to check if it was and if he/you could post them on here too

Will do.....

[tattieman]

Tattie - if you look at the first picture on that link, each box has stickers so that instead on writing on the bags, you can just peel a sticker off and stick it to your bag. When I got home, I just tore it off that bag and put it in the bottom of the eg box so I know which is which when I plant out. Great idea!!!

That is a good idea. I wish I had thought of that.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Went to Ryton Spud Day today - was delighted to see Setanta there - as recommended by Tattieman, although disappointed not to find any Dunluce.

This was doubly disappointing as I'd promised one of the old boys from the Hill that I'd pick him up a dozen or so.

[Alison]

Yup - I already have 14kg of tatties

Wow, that's a lot of spuds! Last year planted about 7kg, been eating them solidly since the end of June, given a couple of sacks away and am not at all sure we'll get through the rest of them before they start sprouting in the spring! And that's taking into consideration the harvest mentioned below.

The Ryecroft purple will through a nice crop of tasty spuds but you don't get many per plant.

I'll second the not many per plant! Put 6 in last year and got about 8 out of the soil! Very nice (although difficult to find in the soil due to the dark skin colour) but I won't be growing again for that reason. They were a bit close together but so were the PFAs next to them which yeilded a decent sack load.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Oh - forgot to say what I bought

Int Kidney - did these last year and although they taste nothing like jersey royals in our soil, they were delicious.
Mona Lisa - I couldn't get Dunluce which were good last year, but this variety recommended to a friend of mine at her spud day last weekend by a spud guru
Charlotte - can't go wrong with these jobbies
Osprey - wanted Kestral, but as last year, couldn't get these so had the closely related Osprey
Robinta - red skinned maincrop recommended by the same friend as above...
Setanta - recommended by Tattieman!

[tattieman]

Alison did you dig deep to find the Ryecroft?
We found that they grow reall y deep in the soil and tend not to move near the surface.
You might find that they will start to grow again soon if any were left in the soil.
Hazel that is a good selection. There is no reason that Dunluce should not be available as I have a shed load of it. I took a bag down to Gordales today as they had sold out of it.
I really must try and contact the organisers of these events and show them all the stuff they are missing out on.

[Alison]

Alison did you dig deep to find the Ryecroft?

Erm well I THOUGHT I did but now am wondering. If the ground defrosts by the weekend I want to clear that bed over anyway so will have a further dig and see what's there!

[philc]

Potato Day 2010

Thanks to anyone who came to Whitchurch - 2,200 altogether!

We managed to get together 135 varieties available loose (24 of which were also available as organically grown) plus the range of heritage varieties from a company called JBA making over 150 altogether.

If any one can suggest how to improve the day, please shout - I've already had comments about the signing to the site - I thought I could cut down from previous years - I was wrong!!!

On Setanta, we have a stall provided by our local organic grower and one of their 3 varieties this was Setanta which are growing well on Hampshire chalk under organic conditions.

Pics at www.potatoday.org/photos.htm