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Being an absentee gardener I like tatties. (Rhubarb,garlic,apples and plums too). Added a few more containers for tatties before we went on holiday. Coming up better that the ones in veg patch!

In 2 new containers today I'm trying half fresh grass clippings as a bottom layer and half homemade compost on top. I'll report back on yield.

Joeboy wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 10:13 am Being an absentee gardener I like tatties. (Rhubarb,garlic,apples and plums too). Added a few more containers for tatties before we went on holiday. Coming up better that the ones in veg patch!

In 2 new containers today I'm trying half fresh grass clippings as a bottom layer and half homemade compost on top. I'll report back on yield.

Would be far better drying the grass clippings out to make hay then putting a 4 inch layer of clippings above the soil for the potatoes to grow through. What you will find is the potato tops grow through the grass mulch but the new potato grows between the soil and grass mulch. i actually use old hay on the farm and it has stopped all problems of scab and slug damage.

renewablejohn wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 9:14 pm

Joeboy wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 10:13 am Being an absentee gardener I like tatties. (Rhubarb,garlic,apples and plums too). Added a few more containers for tatties before we went on holiday. Coming up better that the ones in veg patch!

In 2 new containers today I'm trying half fresh grass clippings as a bottom layer and half homemade compost on top. I'll report back on yield.

Would be far better drying the grass clippings out to make hay then putting a 4 inch layer of clippings above the soil for the potatoes to grow through. What you will find is the potato tops grow through the grass mulch but the new potato grows between the soil and grass mulch. i actually use old hay on the farm and it has stopped all problems of scab and slug damage.

Cheers, I'll add that in a few weeks once established.

I do this already on the beds and find it really improves moisture retention in the soil. First cut of the year on the lefthand bed. I have a 500ltr composted waiting to be turned out onto the right hand bed. It's last years collected excess grass clippings. Amazing how the soil is improved with such a seemingly simple step. How many acres do you farm John?

Have just over 14 acres so postage stamp really. Have now semi retired as I suffer from artheritas in my hands but used to do 90,000 plants a year which were sold through farmers markets but that was before I got into biomass. Still keep my hand in growing our own fruit and veg which we are virtually self sufficient.

renewablejohn wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 10:44 pm Have just over 14 acres so postage stamp really. Have now semi retired as I suffer from artheritas in my hands but used to do 90,000 plants a year which were sold through farmers markets but that was before I got into biomass. Still keep my hand in growing our own fruit and veg which we are virtually self sufficient.

There's something very satisfying in growing and cooking your own food. It's a big deal for me on a very small scale.

Joeboy wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 9:07 pm

renewablejohn wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 10:44 pm Have just over 14 acres so postage stamp really. Have now semi retired as I suffer from artheritas in my hands but used to do 90,000 plants a year which were sold through farmers markets but that was before I got into biomass. Still keep my hand in growing our own fruit and veg which we are virtually self sufficient.

There's something very satisfying in growing and cooking your own food. It's a big deal for me on a very small scale.

Very much so especially when you have been told that you will never grow anything at that location as it is to high up and windswept.

Tatties are doing well both in buckets and beds, giving them a heavy water today. Harvested a couple of kilos of rhubarb while there, chopped and frozen. Enormously satisfying to be doing and all the better for health and zero taxation on our food.

The secondhand chest freezer we bought last year has become quite the link in our RE chain.

A mate gave me some new (to me) chilli seeds at the tail end of last years growing season. So far on only water and shop bought compost we are seeing the chilli's exceed my length of hand (about 8").

Have started tonight to actively feed these plants today with liquid feed and miracle grow. Happy to send on seeds from the best fruit of the year at seasons end if anyone is interested?

I am astonishing at the growth in last 2 weeks. My mate called them Dragon chilli's? I don't know them yet.

I grow some chilli peppers.
We have a few anaheim chili pepper (yours look very similar).

They are a smashing crop. Roast & Pickle well. Eat green & red. Cook well and very nice fresh in salad.

We are still eating last years....

We had our first tiny tatties yesterday - tasted amazing!
A mix of 2nd earlies - which are mostly 'volunteers' which I missed last year and they grew by themselves, plus some not-really-ready King Edward maincrop spuds which I needed to be out of the way to plant up squashes (might have underestimated how much space the spuds would take up, and how much overlap there would be between different crops!