Last summer I let some potatoes sprout. Not on purpose, stuff happened and I didn't use them in time so they went sprouty and, as they were King Edwards or were they Maris Pipers, more expensive ones anyway, I thought I'd have a go at planting them in a strong bag.
I had some rubble sacks which are very strong but not huge so I punched holes around the bottom for drainage, added some soil and popped in some of the spuds. I'd already planted some new potatoes (left over from the allotment planting) in the same way and they had done a bit OK, not great but OK. Over time they grew and I covered them, they grew and I covered them until they got to the top, the leaves and stem did their bit, withered and fell off.
And I sort of forgot about them, even though the bags are in plain sight. Despite the impression I accidentally give from time to time, I'm not a whizz gardener. My garden is small and growing space is smaller. I do OK with the runner beans and the tomatoes while the strawberries seem to like me but I don't have green fingers and tend to be death to house plants!
So I sort of forgot.
Until this morning when I went out to the shed and they called out to me. Well - I noticed them anyway.
I rather thought by now they would be all manky so I dug my hand in with a bit of a shudder but, to my delight, up came some perfect potatoes. Small, for sure, smaller than they look in the photo but real, edible potatoes. Lovely smelling, muddy and gorgeous
These.
And there's more there but I left them for now because I was getting wet.
That's a few days' worth of potatoes there, for sure. They are drying, then I will just brush the soil off a bit and pop them in the potato bag where they should stay good for a while.
What a shame I have already prepped my potatoes for dinner tonight!
Guess what I shall be doing again this summer!
I love unexpected finds (or rememberings). They'll be tasty for sure, and you should have enough for a good few meals by the time you've got them all in.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, that would be great. I get very excited when things grow; it is such a miracle each time.
ReplyDeleteJ x
Lovely! Growing your own food is wonderful isn't it? There's the frugal factor of course, but the taste and smell is always so much better. Take supermarket carrots, e.g., they have no smell whatsoever....unlike home grown ones which smell glorious.
ReplyDeleteHome grown wins every time, I totally agree and, in some case, are the only ones I will eat - runner beans, for example.
ReplyDeleteJ x
Love your findings. I am starting to get enthusiastic about planning for the allotment this year (i will make time to enjoy it this year). Also, we are gardening at school, so enthusiastic for that too.
ReplyDeleteI have now done a full week back at work. My big trip seems like a dream, and i have a stinking cold (so I'm sure you are familiar with the feeling of being unable to hear the children who need you to hear, and those less so being too loud!) I pathetically texted home halfway through the day when I felt i really could cook my planned meal to have sausages defrosted. Then randomly i ended up making toad in the hole (something i rarely make because i don't like it!) An added bonus (for the kids who ate it, and me who made it) was pudding (also quite rare). I had a parkin loaf in the cupboard, bought in a 2 pack probably around bonfire night. I opened a can of pears (2/3 of my kids hate tinned fruit), sliced them, topped with sliced parkin, tipped the juice over and baked til hot, then served up with the end of a tub of aunt Bessie's custard ice cream (a 'heron' bargain). My middle boy had seconds after we walked the dog!
I would love any tips from you or other readers for after school hungryness (me and the boys!) i try to do soup, but it's not always practical. The youngest had crisps and a kiwi and was still hungry, i started cooking the meal as soon as i got in, and i think they ate by 5.30.
Poor love - I well remember making myself go into school what all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and die. And then I'd get sent home at lunchtime.
ReplyDeleteFor fill-up-ness, probably something proteiny would be better than crisps. Maybe a soup made with pulses or lentil and veg - I find that quite filling. If you made a batch at the weekend, you could freeze it in portions and get them out in the morning. It might be worth checking exactly what they are having for lunch if they are desperate by three thirty. Mind you, boys seem to be bottomless pits. I remember mine!
Hope you feel better really quickly
J x
Hidden treasure how lovely, I love it when I did over the soil and some potatoes pop up. Wonderful.
ReplyDeletePotatoes are particularly magical, I find. Boring little sprouty things in, leave them, water them, leave them, let them die off and wow! Buried treasure indeed!
ReplyDeleteJ x