Tuesday 7 August 2012

Potato Woes


So, this year we got blight. We've never been bothered by it before, but this year it struck us in mid-July. As soon as we realised what it was we cut them back, hoping that the potatoes beneath the ground would be ok, and that they would have had enough time to grow into nice big potatoes.

I dug up the Desiree crop first. So far so good, it wasn't great, but it wasn't a disaster either. The yield was reasonable, but the potatoes were on the small side.



Then I moved on to my favourite potatoes - Pink Fir Apples. I really love Pink Fir Apple potatoes. I have to say that I was gutted. Lots and lots of potatoes, but all of them were really tiny. The top picture shows my biggest Pink Fir Apple, the bottom shows the average size. :-( Really, really disappointed. Out of my whole crop I think I have enough to make enough mash potato for the 5 of us. I was still eating my Pink Fir Apples from 2011 in late Spring of this year. That definitely won't be happening this time around.


By now I really felt like going home, however it was still sunny so I thought I'd move on to the Kestrel crop. Not the best yield, but most of the potatoes were nice and big, unfortunately every one of them has split. I think this is weird because it hasn't affected any of my other potatoes. 

The thing about this somewhat disastrous harvest was that it made me realise just how lucky we are. For our ancestors who largely relied on the food they grew to survive, 2012 would have proved a very perilous year. Hopefully, 2013 will be better.



6 comments:

  1. Crikey - that's a disappointment. My potatoes were not as good as normal either. You are right thought - if we had to survive on what we grow - a lot of us would be going hungry this year. Better luck next year eh!

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    1. Yep, a pretty disastrous time for me on the potato front. Onwards and upwards!

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  2. Oh no poor you, we were struck by blight last year. It was the first time we attempted potatoes in the ground. We didn't bother with potatoes this year though Im sure with the weather conditions we would be in the same blight boat as others seem to be.

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    1. Don't let it put you off. I love growing potatoes. Why don't you try first earlies? They will be on your plate before blight gets to spread its evilness! x

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  3. Oh dear! Given ideal conditions blight struck early this year on top of all the other problems that we've all encountered.
    I normally do okay with potatoes but they're noticeably smaller and fewer than usual.
    Fingers crossed that next year will be better! Flighty xx

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