Digging

There is a lovely poem titled 'Digging' by Seamus Heaney. I guess anybody who has been where I am - taking over an old plot - knows what it really is to dig!

My enthusiasm really took control. And for quite a number of weeks I really worked hard digging the plot over. It was (and still is really) infested with perinial weeds. Mainly Bindweed and Couch grass. The usual suspects. However, In those initial weeks I cleared a nice area of the plot. Pulling out the horrible white stick roots of the bindweed by hand. It was lovely to stand afterwards and just look at the dark soil - clean.

This was where I planted my first crop of early potatoes. Pentland Javelin. I lovely clean tuber with minimum skin and a waxy texture. Perfect for salads - but as Ive discovered, equally good roasted with olive oil and rosemary, and even mashed with musted, butter and milk. Yum.

I planted two rows back in April. 12 seed potatoes in each row. I put 2 foot between the rows and 12 inches between each plant. I had read lots of different views in books and on websites about the planting distance needed, but decided I should go with the ones I did because basically I didnt have that much room and also thought - what the hell!

Potatoes are a wonderful crop for the novice. Personally they seem so reliable. Your basically guaranteed a harvest, but not only that, with the amount of clearing and digging ahead of me o the plot to go, seeing new life, seeing actually crops start emerging anf growing bigger each visti was wonderfully satisfying and really lifts your morale. I urge every new allotmenteer to plant potatoes in their first year no matter what the plot is like. It really did keep me going.

A short while into June, Im harvesting the first of them. WOW! Little white gems hidden beneath the soil - I actually had to stop myself from screaming out anf running around like a loon! I rushed them straight home and we had them boiled for our tea!

I made another 2 trips in the following weeks. Taking back just enough for a meal or two. But I read somewhere that I could be risking some slug damage now with the rest and so I dug the lot up and have them stored in a hesian sack in our utility room. There must have been about 25k - the sack was over a quarter full of new potatoes - some were huge! They are still going. I find it a little shocking that we are still eating the new potatoes and they are not going bad/rotten/throwing shoots or anything yet!