[muntjac]

got a call from one the farmers i worked with on the estate and he told me his potao's have gone unsold due to splitting skins due to the weather and a viurus that came in with the seed potato .he is unable to sell them so they have been written off  unfortuntly the virus is only compensationable after 21 days so as he had them in the ground in 2 weeks from delivery he lost the lot .over £10.000 werth spuds ..... so back to tyhe fone call .. karl ? yeh mate .want some spuds? yeh where are they ? in the chicken shed fields ,help yourself there must be 90 ton take as many the good ones as you like im ploughing the lot in by the weekend and sowing rape .the field wont be growing spuds for 20yrs now .s*** i said .thats bad news .anyways help yourself mate .ty richard/guess where i am from 6 pm the morrow evening with my trailer

[shaun]

so are they alright then or will they carry this virus with them ? be careful sailor  

[GrannieAnnie]

Is your trailer big enough for 90 ton of spuds Munty??  

Good luck mate, shame for the farmer, but good for munty!! Sausage and mash for dinner tomorrow?

[muntjac]

i wil be keeping em awayfrom my stuff in sacks .im gonna go grab a dozen sacks of the goodsoilid ones .i wouldnt use em fer seed . just east em ,i know now that spuds in sacks are gonna go £8 a sack ina few weeks if not more

[Trillium]

Wash your tools and boots when you get back so you don't spread any diseases at your place, same with clothes. Amazing how easily some things spread.

[muntjac]

lol great minds trill lol

[DD.]

Something tells me that you don't need to tell Munty that!!

[GrannieAnnie]

Nope, he's defo on the ball is our Munty!!!!

[Celtic Eagle]

I know this may sound a daft question but it's sort of related Munty picking up the spuds and then getting all cleaned off to stop virus transfer . It just set me thinking how careful do we need to be between plot and garden then? I don't grow veg at home cept toms an peppers but i do grow cut flower on the plot  anbody any comments ??

[muntjac]

i wash all my tools off with a hose after i do a job and never take soil from other gardens if its possibble .i know that tha garden i took on for an old couple has clubroot on it so i dont take anything with soil or plants from there to my allotment

[agapanthus]

i wil be keeping em awayfrom my stuff in sacks .im gonna go grab a dozen sacks of the goodsoilid ones .i wouldnt use em fer seed . just east em ,i know now that spuds in sacks are gonna go £8 a sack ina few weeks if not more

Grab a couple for me!!

[muntjac]

went to have  pick of some tonite .am absolutly gobsmacked at what i found .i called matey and told him i was coming over and he said whats left is yours ... all i can say is wait till i put the pics up. what a blooming disaster the massive food superchains  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x have imposed on the farmers when they wont sell unmarked spuds .....there is nothing wrong with 99% of the spuds in the field but some have what can be described as cuts in the flesh that have healed up and may look ugly. i will post the pics as soon as my boy loads em up

[GrannieAnnie]

These supermarkets have a lot to answer for, I know that!  Wish I was a bit nearer Munty, I'd help you clear the spuds!!!! lol

Its like I was trying to explain to my biggest egg customer, why my eggs are so cheap, the ones from the old ex batt girls.  I told him the supermarkets wouldn't sell these eggs, that's why the chooks re killed at 72 weeks of age.  Why he asks?  Because of the mis-shapes and the differing colours of the eggs.  They are not classed as Class A eggs, they are class B eggs.  But they taste good he said!!!!!   Exactly!!!!!  But he still doesn't get it.......

[shaun]

there was a supermarket that was selling odd shaped,too small or damaged veg .most of my veg wouldnt make the grade  

[Trillium]

In Ontario, the main buyers of potato crops (eg mcDonalds, the chips companies, etc) force the growers to sign specific contracts before they'll take any spuds. One condition that the grower cannot deviate from, and must be able to prove, is that he sprays insecticide every 2-3 weeks during the whole growing season whether or not there's a bug problem. The buyers want absolutely unblemished spuds (who cares about taste?) and it's their way or the highway. Sadly, the skyrocketing cost of insecticides and on such regular basis, dwindles the farmer's profit to almost nothing. Most have to have their wives work outside the farm to ensure they can keep their farms. More farms are folding than we can afford.  :cry: