After harvesting the potatoes a couple of days ago, i got to thinking about the poor little seed potato. I took so long deciding whether i wanted earlies or maincrops, then which variety to buy, and then the sub variety, then changed my mind, then went to a potato day and made a final decision based on a number of factors. Luckily i chose well - our harvest tastes delicious, with a few chives added for good measure!
The seed potatoes were then meticulously planted and looked after. However, as soon as the green shoots started appearing, i forgot about the tubers until unearthing them, and caught a glimpse of the wrinkled mess that i spent so much time searching for.
It’s quite amazing that seeds turn into what they do. All we do is (hopefully!) give the seed the right conditions for germination. This enables the embryo - a plant in what is essentially a state of frozen animation - to begin it’s growth. Inside the seed is enough food to support it as it begins to absorb water, the embryo begins to grow, it puts roots down and develops baby leaves (cotyledons), so that it can finally provide its own food. Potatoes are a little different, being the size that they are. The really tiny seeds like carrot seeds are particularly amazing.
This is one of the main reasons we decided to begin growing our own - why should we pay somebody else to give the seed the right conditions for germination, look after it during its growth and food production, (spray it with loads of chemicals!), package it and deliver it to somewhere near our home.
We can do that ourselves.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Too right! I love growing from seed for those very reasons, it never ceases to amaze me that a tiny seed can turn into something so tasty (usually).
Bean seeds are always lovely to run your fingers through but it is the tiny carrot and lettuce seed that really impresses.
This year I was really happy to find that sweetcorn seed is just corn, I mean it is obvious when you think about it but really who thinks about the food you eat in that much detail?
May 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Oh - I’ve just discovered your blog thanks to a link from the ravensbourne allotment blog.
Potatoes from Dundry Nurseries, by any chance? I’m just about to unearth my first ones of the year too (also in Cheltenham).
May 28th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Exactly Amy, and i think if people do start thinking about their food in a little more detail, then maybe more people will be growing their own, and being amazing like us!
Welcome Clare! Hope you like what we are trying to do, and will come again! Do you have an allotment in Cheltenham? I’m on the list. The tatties were from the Potato Day at Dun dry…and bloody good they tasted to!
May 29th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I do indeed like what you’re trying to do!
I’m just starting out - had my allotment for all of two weeks so far at the Hayden Road site, so the only potatoes this year are in pots on the patio. Hopefully next year I’ll be growing on a rather larger scale.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:16 am
I’m very envious! Not sure where that site is. Are there many plots there? I’ve got my name down on the Asquith Rd plots, but no joy yet, apparently the wait is massive!
Are you going raised, just out of interest or planting in the ground?