9 hours Ago
Growing your own food can improve your physical and mental health, increase sustainable and local food production, is kind to your pocket, and enhances your knowledge and skills. Now is the time to plan your vegetable garden and take the opportunity to tidy up your vegetable beds. Start by preparing the soil by weeding, loosening it and adding some nutrient rich compost / organic matter before planting.
• Soil with a neutral ph 6/7 is best for growing most vegetables • Blueberries like acidic soil (ericaceous) As it is still a bit cold outside – it’s a great time to think about the crops you want to grow. Let’s start with an everyday staple, the humble potato – potatoes reproduce by budding and hence are very easy to grow. Chitting potatoes is the process of pre-sprouting seed potatoes before planting them in the ground/potato bag/pot – it speeds up germination and produces bigger and better crops.
• First Earlies – start chitting 4-6 weeks before planting in March • Best to buy certified seed potatoes to avoid introducing diseases into your soil • Put the potatoes into an egg box to keep them stable with the eye buds facing upward • A windowsill, conservatory, or greenhouse should provide a cool, bright, natural light source that will enhance the chitting process • Should be kept in a cool (frost-free) environment (10-15degree centigrade) • Good air circulation to prevent mould • 2-4 weeks - green or purple sprouts emerge from the eyes • 1-2 cm is the ideal sprout length, if they are too long, they may become fragile and break • 4 strong shoots per potato is plenty, any more remove the weaker ones Once soil temperatures reach at least 7 degrees centigrade your chitted potatoes can be planted in a sunny spot in the ground, raised bed, potato bag, or large pot with drainage holes. Fill the bottom of the container with a layer of peat free compost, place your chitted seed potatoes on top, spacing them evenly with the sprouts facing upwards. Cover with a layer of compost, leaving about 2 to 3 inches of space on the top of the container and, as the shoots grow, gradually add more compost until the container is full.
Water and keep moist throughout the growing season and harvest when the foliage starts to die back, cook, eat, taste the difference and enjoy. Each potato planted should yield between five and 20 potatoes. If you don’t have a growing, outdoor space, there are plenty of community gardens across Inverclyde that you can get involved in.
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