Hello,
We're new to keeping an allotment and we are struggling. Sorry in advance for the big post...
Can anyone help me figure out what is happening to the potatoes on our plots-we have two plots and several issues.
1. All our potatoes are abysmal. Why?
2. Our bottom plot, bottom left bed keeps vanishing potatoes, many just fail to grow.
3. Is it safe to eat what we have grown in that section?
4. Should we give up on growing potatoes?
5. What should we grow instead? Fruit?
Our plots are opposite each other across the path.
The newer to us is up the hill, we've had it 3 months because the last plot holders had abandoned it.
The bottom plot is divided in half by a path and it was shared for a year by the plot next door. It wasn't cultivated before that and had machinery on it, like all the plots on the bottom because the council put a pipe in. He grew on his side of the path potatoes, cabbages, turnips and lovely big gooseberry bushes never had any problems. They were all massive. The gooseberries being perennial are still thriving (I made amazing jam). He improved his side-where most of the potatoes are a lot more than our side. Our side has raspberries that are thriving and trying to invade everywhere. I transplanted some of their suckers to the garden and their comparable. There's also Jostaberries, strawberries, white currants and rhubarb. Which are doing fine.
We are growing Arran Victory, Queens, King Edwards and Desiree (from a different supplier) and honestly except for the Desiree (which isn't too bad), their growth rate is glacial. They're all a foot tall or at best a foot and a half, but look more like scraggly trees. Even ones in grow bags in compost. Both have a handful of tiny leaves and roots, they're just not taking off and 4 months later there is basically no progress. Some are flowering already, with a maximum of two flowers on the most enthusiastic. You can easily see between the plants and rows
. I come from a big potato growing area and I've never seen anything like that.
They were put in the most improved area (his bit) after the frosts at the end of March so frost wasn't a problem. Most of the potatoes are in the bottom plot in the most improved area. But the potatoes in the top plot aren't doing any better.
We suspect it's the seeds as the other plot holders that we asked got theirs from the local plant centre, we got ours from a big online supplier. When they arrived the box was wet, damaged and the potatoes on the bottom were a bit mouldy. We didn't have time to hang about and we planted. The mouldy being grown in both plots and are actually doing the same as the rest of the non mouldy ones.
We applied loads of well rotted manure when planting, we've weeded, there's been plenty of rain so it's not thirst. We've even lied to them and told them they're doing well to boost their moral.
Tonight the Husband dug up almost 2 square meters in the Dread Bed and a few plants in the improved area and there was maybe 2 marble-sized tubers per plant in the Dread Bed and 4 in the improved area. The potatoes that are there are nice potatoes, no scab, slug damage, or worm holes but they are marble sized and pathetic. I'm not getting out of the soil what I put in it as they are smaller.
There is blight in the area but that's only just started and the two plots on each side's plants are still your typical big bushy plants.
There's also the problem of the bottom left area of the bottom plot
aka the Blasted Heath/Dread Bed. In the 3 years nothing potato like has taken out of there. Last year we thought the drought killed them as there's no water on the allotment, we couldn't take enough up ourselves and our "water butt" barrel was empty. We suspect that in the middle of that bed there has been a spill of something when the council were putting the loathed pipe in. Literally two rows side by side are a complete contrast. The ones up the hill are still a quarter the size of both next doors if I'm being generous, but they have dark green leaves rather than pathetic sickly pale yellow/green tiny things and the row is complete-no missing plants. There is a rather pathetic apple and hazel that haven't noticeably grown since we replanted them below the dread bed. However the red currant beyond them, massive, thriving.
Up at the top of our original bit up the hill from the Dread Bed we planted the Desiree. While they didn't do as well as the other plots above ground we got easily on one plant more than entirety of the Dread Bed.
There is almost no worms anywhere between the two plots, we found 4 in the bottom plot by the gooseberries, 1 in the top plot. But it's only 1/5 cultivated.
In the bottom plot there are the most massive moth caterpillars throughout the plot. We found one in the raspberry patch, just above the only good potato row at the top of the Dread Bed that was as wide as the tip of my little finger and longer than it. Whatever is the Dread Bed doesn't affect the massive moth caterpillars (next paragraph) living there. Last year we found loads in the Dread Bed-they feed on the grass, so there was none this year because we got most of the scutch/couch grass out when planting. We have a wild patch in the plot (above Dread Bed, below raspberries).
So we are wondering is it the seed... Or have we got or something else?
Any suggestions about if it is it the
1. The seed potatoes?
2. Is it a disease in our plots?
3. Is it environmental, something in the plot?
4. Mix of several of the above
What should we do?
1. Given there's blight just started nearby do we dig the lot up and plant winter cabbages, beetroot and fruit?
2. Feed them potash? I was going to do that again tonight but just how rubbish they were doing got to me and we just reviewed, picked the ready fruit and left.
3. Stop growing food in the dread bed, plant wild flowers and a flowering currant, put in a pond.
4. Stop growing potatoes and try get the money back for this year?
5. Contact Sepa and ask them to test soil from the plot and see if it's safe to eat root vegetables out of there.
6. Grow fruit. Sod vegetables.
7. Dig out the top foot of soil in that area and put more soil in the entire plot. Keenan provides rough chopped, sterile composted green waste at £15 pound a ton. We're wanting to go no dig already and were waiting for to harvest the potatoes.
Thank you anybody able to offer advice.
