2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

sammy_kaye18 said:

KajiKita said:

Good spud haul @sammy_kaye18 👍😊
There seems to be masses of black berries this year! 😳👏😊🤩 The birds don’t eat them here, so I feel no guilt now in taking as many as I can 😊

KK

Same. I always tend to leave any that haven't turned black yet for the birds or any that are smaller - they still need to eat after all but I always make sure I get enough to get a decent portion of jam and then maybe some syrups or cough syrup for the colder months. 

Can someone help me too? I have a few questions 
1.  I am trying to figure out what to do with the compost I had grown the potatoes in.......am I right in thinking I cant put more spuds or anything else into it or am I better setting it aside for a bit to add some nutrients back into it. They were grown in a bag so not a bed. 
I have a few more bags and boxes with spuds in as well

I put mine back into the compost heap - however,  don't see any reason you couldn't reuse it for spuds - I've grown them in leaf litter with no problem at all - they'll pretty much grow in anything!! 

2. I would like to grow a few more bits and hopefully over winter. I have read that I can plant things now like winter salad leaves, spinach, radishes are all fairly quick growing and I can over winter things like broad beans and peas. 
Apparently if I plant turnip seeds now too they would be golf ball sized by Christmas and could make the dinner table. Is there anything else? I do have a plastic greenhouse I can grow in as well so wouldn't have to be sown outside. 

Salad leaves (winter salad), cauliflowers (for a late spring/early summer crop), carrots and beetroot (under cover) can all be done at this time of year- depends on where you are/what the climate is to how successful you'll be...my theory is chuck it in and be grateful for what works!! 😂 I  use a cold frame type set up (very successfully) for this type of veg in the autumn/winter

3. What do I store pulled potatoes in? Someone suggested a potato bag and somewhere dark? but what on earth is a potato bag and what is it made of?

Mine are grown and then kept in hessian sacks - anything made from something breathable will work -  so a cotton pillow case would be fine, or a cotton 'carrier bag' from a variety of places😉 the dark is necessary to prevent the potatoes from going green from exposure to light (makes them poisonous)

Also forgot to add I managed another small haul today too. I was busy tidying up the garden and enjoying some sunshine and noticed an area that needed weeding, well I must of just chucked some spare seeds in or spilt compost that was seeded because I pulled up a little crop of small carrots! So tea tonight was chicken in white sauce with a shortcrust lid, carrots and potatoes followed by leftover shortcrust pastry with a blackberry jam filling and custard. 

And to then add to the jam stash - husband had a lady approach him in work asking about a stack of pallets they had outside, he jokingly asked what she had to trade with - and before he could ask her how many pallets she wanted so he could put them in her car - she'd gone back to her car and came back with two jars of jam - one blueberry and one rhubarb and ginger. Sounds like a good trade to me! 

sammy_kaye18 said:

Thank you so much for the reply @leftatthetrafficlights

I have a tub in my greenhouse which is leftover old compost that I have had no where else to keep it so maybe Ill add to that and use it as and when I need to. 

I'm down in South Wales so not too bad temperature wise but I do have a greenhouse to save them from the elements a bit. I'm thinking maybe as and when I pull things out (mainly spuds) I will then plant up things like winter salad, turnips, beetroot and carrots and like you said if it works, it works. If not then I tried at least. 

I actually had a clear out of bedding the other day and came across a few sets so I might pinch a few of the pillow cases for vegetable storage in that case.