More Potatoes & Beetroots

The plan was that Emma & Andy were going to give me a hand this morning to get the rest of the spuds in the ground, but with the wife's Lupus flaring up and her stability still compromised, I asked Emma to keep a watchful eye on her Mum whilst Andy and I got on with catching up on the plot. 

Pauline my sister-In-Law supplied coffee and Andy had brought biscuits with him and we had a pit stop about half hour in from arriving 

Bed 11 was stripped, volunteer potatoes were rescued or removed and the 105 hole weed membrane was laid, then Andy took over and planted up the bed with beetroot seeds and give the bed a good watering in

The blue water pipe hoops were removed from Bed 3 and installed over the onion Bed 12 and the debris netting thrown over. 

Bed 3 was then weeded as there is a little bind weed encroachment a layer of slug pellets laid and the planting membrane laid down. Then whilst Andy planted the beetroots and then did some tidying up and weeding for me I drilled half off the holes, every other one with the hand Augur ready for the seed potatoes to go in

Once Andy had planted a row I went back and augured the holes that had not been done. Doing every other hole stops the hole you have drilled from collapsing in on itself due to the lateral force in the soil as the auger does its work.  

Bed 3 - Pentland Javelin - First Earlies June/July Second Earlies July/ Sept
Bed 4 - Desiree Maincrop - First Earlies June/July Second Earlies July/Sept Maincrop - Sept/Oct
Bed 5 - Albert Bartlett Rooster - Harvest Sept/Oct 

Hoops and netting removed from Bed 2 which needs weeding and sorting out next visit, along with Bed 1 in the background of the photo above.  

Andy left to go and pick up Emma at 11:30 and I tidied up and put away tools and then got on with planting the Charlotte seed potatoes.  

The Charlotte Potatoes were planted into square flower buckets during the last 45 minutes on the plot and placed in a bed on plot 1 in a mixture of coir and B&Q Verve Compost. Charlotte's are a very popular second early salad variety producing pear shaped, yellow skinned, waxy tubers and creamy yellow flesh of first class flavour, eaten either hot or cold. Potato 'Charlotte' holds an RHS AGM and is frequently found in the supermarket.  

I have a few more seed potatoes waiting to be planted sitting in the greenhouse I just need to round up a few more square flower buckets during my next visit and get them in. But at 12:30 it was time for me to go home to my good lady wife and cook our Sunday Lunch.

All in all a good amount of progress made in the 3.5 hours spent on the plot. I have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow despite it being May Day Bank holiday and hopefully I may be signed off back to the GP or perhaps given one final course of antibiotics.