What won't you bother with again?

[Thelma Sanders]

I'm getting too old for the labour

It's not just me thinking like that then!

[Kristen]

Main crop really cheap in the shops and they aren't worth the effort.

I live in the country, farm shops abound, as you say very cheap to buy by the sackful and I haven't grown maincrop for years, for that reason. Also, mine sprouted by XMas in the cupboard-under-the-stairs, whereas the farmer has cold storage and will sell me a firm, non-sprouted spud all through the Spring.

But ...

we have started to worry about provenance. A few years ago there was a disastrous harvest and the sacks my local farmer had were imported (and not cheap, as usual, although that was fair enough in the circumstances). UK and EU has banned things like Gramoxone being used to dessicate Potato haulms prior to harvest, but such chemicals, including Gramoxone, are still used widely in the rest of the world. Although we are not Organic consumers, we don't want our food treated with things like that ... so I am minded to revert to growing Main Crop again (and we are looking at installing some cool storage as that would also favour storage of other food crops too)

[Penellype]

I grow my maincrop in bags and put them, bags, compost and all, into the garage once the foliage has died down. When I ate the last ones last year at the end of January there was still no sign of sprouting in a warm winter. Variety Desiree.

[Snadger]

I grow my maincrop in bags and put them, bags, compost and all, into the garage once the foliage has died down. When I ate the last ones last year at the end of January there was still no sign of sprouting in a warm winter. Variety Desiree.

I tried this one year as it seemed a really good idea. The crop was disappointing for me though, (can't remember which variety)but definitely worth another try with Desiree.

[Penellype]

I don't really measure how many potatoes I get, but I do seem to get quite a few and some are big ones. I'm usually just glad to get any at all as they are always grown in very deep shade against a north facing wall.