Potatoes Past and Present

As we have had potatoes grown at our cottage most years when I was younger, I always wanted to try and grow some. In summer I decided to plant some of the shop bought potatoes for cooking. They were not eaten and they were sprouting, so it seemed logical (even though every book about vegetables says do not do this). The result is this: roughly two handfuls of teeny tiny potatoes, the biggest pictured above.

I was surprised by how easy it was, the plants grew tall and strong and were probably the best looking plants in the whole of the garden. However, because I planted them so late in the year (July is not ideal - experience counts though :) ), the tubers did not have enough time to grow large and when the green parts of the plants died, they were still very little. Cutest baked potatoes in the world though J

Below is my entire harvest for the last year. It makes me feel sad for the seven fully grown potatoes that went into the ground to produce this pitiful amount. Well, we cannot go self-sufficient yet, because we would probably die. But I loved watching my plants grow and fantasizing about what might be hiding under the ground.

This year I am ready. I have already bought my seed potatoes, this time certified disease free and of a known variety. I have bought a large pack of King Edward potatoes and a much smaller sample pack of wonderful Red Duke of York potatoes. The patch is dug but needs some weeding and care and I am also getting ready for growing potatoes in tall bags. We will see... And I hope you will see too, if I do not fall into the lazy habit of not writing blog posts.Wish me luck.