This is the last of the potato harvest for this year. They've been grown in containers, but I thought I'd better empty what was left as frost had been forecast in various parts of the country and I didn't want them to spoil. As it happened, we didn't get a frost, but better to be on the safe side, especially this year, the weather's been very strange indeed. I've been really pleased with this variety, Arran Pilot, and I'll definitely grow them again next year. I also grew a couple of containers of Nicola but I wasn't so keen on them. They weren't so flavoursome nor did they give a very good yield. I shall probably try a few tubers of a different variety alongside the Arran Pilot again next year.
Just for reference, I'd like to record that it wasn't until the 21st of September this year that I ate my first home grown tomato. All the green fruit which I harvested last week is now spread out in seed trays on the windowsill in the conservatory. There's five trays in total and the tomatoes in one of the trays are just about ripe now, the rest of the fruit still has some way to go, but laying them out on a windowsill looks to be working.
Good to know that Arran Pilot is a dependable potato, Jo. There's such a lot to choose from and I like to just have a couple of containers. I was very pleased with the Charlottes that I grew and have yet to dig up the Roosters (a special offer from Morrisons!). I doubt we've seen the last of this dreadful weather and I'm no longer hopeful of a prolonged mild autumn; I just hope winter isn't too bad!
ReplyDeleteThere's so many potato varieties, I think it's just a matter of trying a few and seeing which do best for you and which you like the flavour of. I was hoping for an Indian summer but there looks to be little hope now. We must be due a mild winter, surely.
DeleteOur Nicola cropped very well and is a favourite. Maybe it isn't really suited to growing in tubs or bags.
ReplyDeleteIt could be that, Sue. Potatoes do differently in different conditions so your soil must be what Nicola likes.
DeleteI've done the same with my tomatoes. The yield is small and mostly green and i have only 3 or 4 rips right now.
ReplyDeleteI think it's been a bad year for tomatoes all round. Thank goodness that we get another crack at it next year, let's hope the weather's a little better.
DeleteSeeing those I think that I shall grow some Arran Pilot next year.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that you're getting some ripe tomatoes at long last.
Let's hope the weather settles down as we head into winter. Flighty xx
Hope the Arran Pilot do well for you, they're certainly one of my favourites. It's been a long time coming with the tomatoes this year, but they've been worth the wait, you don't get the flavour like you do with home grown. The weather is much better here today. I'm hoping that it stays dry tomorrow as the kids are doing a sponsored walk with school.
DeleteMy totmatoes have reached the stage where there are only a few left (in seed-trays, like yours), but my potatoes are long gone. But then mine were Earlies, so that's not surprising. Your Arran Pilot look very clean: not a sign of scab anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI've been harvesting my potatoes for a long time. I started out with fifteen containers which I started harvesting on 3rd of June, so I think I've done really well with them. They've kept me in new potatoes all season.
DeleteI've not pulled any tomatoes up yet as they are ripening very slowly and there are not some ripe ones on the outdoor tomatoes. Sunshine here today.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
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It's been bad year to get tomatoes ripe, though I've got high hopes for those on my windowsill. It makes a change to see a little sunshine.
DeleteYour potatoes look great Jo...I finished my new ones a long time ago. Isn't it funny how we both had such different results with these two varieties...just goes to show you really need to try things out yourself and only use other peoples experiences as a guideline.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are getting some ripe tomatoes...think I will be pulling the few green ones on my plants this weekend and hoping they ripen.
I agree, there's nothing like your own experience. I think all our tastes differ too. I hope you manage to ripen your tomatoes, mine are happy on the windowsill.
DeleteWhat lovely potatoes! Such a difficult year for everything. My outdoor tomatoes were all blighted, and the greenhouse tomatoes are being stolen by a Labrador!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the blight, it's been rife this year. Archie likes tomatoes too, I have to watch him as he's happy to eat them green.
DeleteHey Jo. I haven't eaten one homegrown tomato yet (but one or two are orange!!!)
ReplyDeleteThe runner bean hardly got going before the storms and the French and Italian beans didn't even get started.
On the plus side, even our abbreviated season potatoes will keep us going... for about another month.
Just seen the wartime farming programme on the telly. Cheered me up no end!
Fingers crossed for your tomatoes, I'm sure they'll be worth the wait once you do taste them. I've only just started harvesting my beans so I'm hoping that the frost stays away and I get to harvest a few more yet. I haven't watched this week's Wartime Farm yet, I've taped it though. I'm really enjoying it.
DeleteWhen I was a boy we used to clamp our potatoes under straw and soil. I think it was very effective against frost even in Scotland!
ReplyDeleteI've heard of using a clamp for things like carrots and beetroot but not for potatoes. It stands to reason that it would work though.
DeleteIt seems Sept has been a bit chillier than I'd expected and the rain levels and flooding isn't good. I heard on the radio the local farmers say it was one of their worse years for potato yield. I'm leaving my tomoato plants in for a bit longer but come October I imagine I will need to clear them out and ripen the remaining green tomaotoes.
ReplyDeleteI'd been hoping for an Indian summer but I don't think it's going to materialise now. I feel so sorry for the farmers who rely on their harvests, it's been such a terrible year.
DeleteHave made a note of Aaran Pilot for future reference Jo. Glad to read that your tomatoes are on the turn. I am sure that the taste will be well worth the wait. Here the rain earlier last week was the most prolonged we have had all year and there was some flooding locally :( It is pouring down again now. Who knows what the rest of the year has in store?
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying the tomatoes now that I've got some ripe ones, well worth the wait. We've had some terrible flooding in Yorkshire, though we've been very lucky and have been unaffected. We passed the River Ouse and River Wharfe at York on Saturday as we travelled up the A64 and there's still widespread flooding around there.
DeleteIts been a challenging year to say the least. Your potatoes look great Jo, what a success you've had growing them in containers.
ReplyDeleteNo tomatoes here, not a one! No apples either. I gave up on the veg garden when the molluscs moved in, but hey, there's always next year!
Jeanne
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The potatoes certainly come out much cleaner when grown in containers, no waste at all. So sorry to hear about your tomatoes and apples, it's been a dreadful year for most things, let's hope that things improve next year.
DeleteCongratulations on your first tomato! Plus your lovely yield of Arran Pilot potatoes look delicious.
ReplyDeleteThe tomatoes are ripening well on the windowsill so I've managed quite a few now, they're delicious. I can recommend Arran Pilot, they're a great potato in my opinion.
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