Doh!!

Being new to veggie growing, I was intrigued to see here, in magazines and on TV, the idea of growing potatoes in containers so that you could 'have new potatoes with your Christmas dinner'.

I duly acquired containers, growing medium, potatoes, planted the little beauties, cared for them, nutured them (even talked to them occasionally!). Come Christmas Eve, I donned me thermals and wellies, grabbed me spade and fork, a large potato transporting container and trudged yeti-like to the far reaches of the garden - I raised the spade, hit the soil and ..... the reverberation nearly dislocated my shoulder! After some time, in mountain rescue fashion, my husband appeared similarly clad, bearing hammer and chisel! Needless to say the potatoes (if indeed there are any) are still firmly in their containers - talk about '.. earth stood hard as iron ...' :dh:

 

Our Spuds-in-bags were in the cold conservatory ... tipped a couple of them out to get New Spuds for Christmas lunch - 6 seed potatoes, 2 bags, plenty of compost .... its quite a lot for New Potatoes for 6 people! We did wonder that New Potatoes are not really part of the standard Christmas fare ... but the kids prefer them to Roast ...

Soil here is perhaps not as frozen because I was able to harvest for lunch without too much bother - Parsnips, Celeriac with some stored King Edwards and Garlic to make mash, Sprouts, Leeks and a Squash harvested earlier ... and probably the odd Onion or two. Just got the grow the Turkey next year :D

Saw bits of an old 2 x Ronnies on the box " ... news just in of a man who has invented a bullet made from sage - so you can kill and stuff the Turkey at the same time ..." Boom! Boom!

 

Finally, a week and a bit later, and the soil has thawed sufficiently to get at those spuds, not a great haul but sufficient for a decent helping each - although now no-one is coming to enjoy them ... they've all got flu! Is that nature's way of telling me not to bother :hehe: