Onions and bags of tatties

Not withstanding the dreaded man flu I got a bit of gardening done yesterday. 

With the "help" of the kids we sowed 4 rows of white onions and two rows of red onions.  I always sow sets since I've had little success in the past with seeds but hey give seeds a go if you fancy.  The sets are just the standard ones you see in decent garden centres but I resist buying the pre-packed ones and just bag up as many as I need into the paperbags provided.  That way you can pick your own lovely firm fat sets.

As a rule I try and buy onion sets that have been "heat treated".  This helps to prevent "bolting".  Basically, in really hot summers the onion gives up trying to swell and forces up a pretty flower spike with a globe flower on the top.  Looks lovely but you don't get any onion.  By heat treating I understand this can be prevented.  I don't know if its right or not but I always have more trouble with red onions bolting in my garden.  You can try shading them and stuff but I think if they are going to do it then they will do it anyway.

We also sowed a short row of spring or salad onions. (these were seeds).  I notice these are now sometimes  being called scallions on TV cooking shows.   I imagine they charge more for scallions.  Mrs M's Grandad calls them green-tails but then he is a very literal Father Jack type character.  He probably calls sprouts "Green balls" like Eilidh does! I sowed short rows of these because I'll sow some more in about 2/3 weeks.  This is called successional sowing and basically means I won't end up with too many spring onions all at once.  The reason for sowing these now is that there is nothing finer with new potatos and as you'll read below I stuck some of those in yesterday too.

Despite having plenty of space I grow my new tatties in bags.  This leaves more room for other crops (including maincrop potatoes), which, because I can plant up bags all over the place in turn allows me more of the delicous new baby spuds when they are at their most expensive in the shops AND I think they are so delicate and fine skinned that they genuinely perform better in bags.  Great news if you have limited space!  My sister grows them on her patio, my youngests nursery has them in their garden.  It really is a simple and lovely way to grow what is a hugely expensive early season crop.   If you've ever seen the tiny bags of first Jersey Royals hitting the supermarket shelves you'll know how expensive they are.  Well these are cheap as chips AND taste miles better! 

Tattie sacks ready for action

Get your strong waste bags, shopping bags, bin bags, specialist tattie bags, pots etc and lob about 20 or so cm of multipurpose compost into them.  Then, as below, stick 4 seed tatties in each bag - eyes pointing upwards.  (The bags need a couple of drainage holes btw)

Awww, look at them all full of life and ready to FEED ME!

Cover these bad boys with about 20/25 cm of multipurpose and water well.  By water well I mean until the water literally pours out the bottom.  Spuds like water!

Dinnae skimp on this bit!

And now we just wait.  In time the potatoes will poke their little shoots up looking for light.  Once these have grown to 10cm above the compost lob some more compost in and cover them up.  Water them regularily and keep covering the shoots up as and when they grow.  Eventually they will reach the top of your bag and then just fil lit right to the top with compost and let them grow on.  Remember to keep watering though, even when its pouring down not much rain will run down into your bag so water well.  Got that?  Water!  Then, for new tatties, a few days after they flower cut the shaws (tops) off and go explore.  Have a poke around in your bag (oooh matron) and feel the little beauties or be impatient and do as I do and tip the bloody lot out!!  You'll be surprised how many potatoes you have and they will be lovely little things untouched by worms, rocks or slugs. Awwww, gorgeous. 
We have a long standing tradition in our family.  The first tatties of the season are taken within minutes of being discovered to the garden tap, washed and flung in a pan of water on a camping stove to be eaten on their own, al fresco in the garden with some real butter and maybe some freshly picked and chopped spring onions and perhaps home made bread.  This for me, is luxury food at its best!  Makes me happy just thinking about it.

So go on then.  Get some seed tatties and some compost.  Chuck them in a bag and I guarantee they will be the best tatties you'll have tasted.  Eat them al fresco straight from the bag and a little bit of heaven shall be yours!

Just don't skip the watering eh?!?

Happy gardening.

Davie

xx

Frugle Gardener Tip - be properly tight!

I was out at our local garden centre here in Dumfries on Saturday.  Its just been extended again and is now officially pretty massive.  It has always been really good too, and I have got to know one or two of the staff there over the years and most of them are actually gardeners.  (You'd be surprised how many aren't in some places - just ask a tricky question).  Its a lovely place for a wonder round, the kids love all the toys and books, Mrs M likes the lovely flowers and gets ideas for different plants and I can browse exotic veggie seeds to my hearts content.  I tell you what though, its not half getting an expensive place to shop!  Thats not a criticism of this garden centre, I imagine its comparably priced but generally the sector is getting really pricey in direct correlation to gardenings growing popularity!  Funny that!


I'm a proud Scot and with that comes a love of being, shall we say, a bit tight!  I enjoy saving money, I can't explain it, its a cultural thing!  When we were there there were people loading up baskets and trolleys with lovely lush looking plants, buying packets and packets of seeds and countless specialist tools.


Do you want to know the secrets of not spending a fortune in the garden centre?  Make friends with your neighbours, always carry a pair of secateurs and some freezer bags with you and gather seed where you can!


I know, neigbours can be a pain.  I'm lucky here, my neighbour Wullie is 176 years old, a lovely man and knows stuff about gardens.  Know your neighbours and you can take divisions of their perennial plants from them as they will from you.  You will be able to see what grows well in their garden and will therefore (probably) be alright in yours.  If you grow too many tomato plants they will probably have something to swap with them.  Same with relatives and work mates!  Take advantage.  Once you become "a gardener" you become part of a secret all knowing and very friendly society!

At one time I would have suggested carrying a sharp knife but that can land you in all sorts of legal horrors these days.  Carry secateurs though when out walking the dog or to the pub or to visit friends and suddenly every plant is a source of lovely fresh wood cuttings!  Especially in the next few months.  Nip a little of that lovely flowering thing of neatly, stash it in your bag.  Pop it in some moist compost with the bag over the top for a few weeks on a windowsill and old Mumma Nature might just bless you with some rooting.  And there you go - a free plant!!  Ok it won't be in the scale of some of the beauts that sell for £25 in the garden centre for a few years but who's rushing??  Mrs M also is a big one for doing this with the odd (very odd) bunch of flowers she gets bought.  Below is what transpired from the supermarket bunch of carnations she got yesterday for mothers day....

Baby Carnations - for free!

Gathering seeds sounds almost mystical but in fact its very easy and once you get the plants growing and then grow some more from their seeds it really does become extremely rewarding.  I still grow certain tomatoes from seed which Wullie the neighbour grew first 30 years ago - thats a lot of generations from one seed packet!!  You can get your seeds from flowers, some veg, many many plants.  Most will need dried off slowly and stored but with a bit of luck on your side, some moist compost and a bit of TLC the world of free plants will be yours young Jedi!

Until next time, Happy gardening!  Don't spend it all at once!