Pulling the plug on my potatoes

I've decided to call time on my potatoes in the front garden. The fact is it is poor soil out there so I didn't expect a great crop, but the long hot dry spell has just meant they had no chance. When I planted them I wasn't banking on a heatwave and drought.

I dug one of the plants up earlier today. There were two small potatoes on it, plus the seedy.

So I've ordered some alphalfa seeds. My research led me to that choice because apparently it's not too late to sow, and it thrives in poor, dry soil.

The potatoes will be dug up imminently, the tops dug under, and any spuds worth having will just be considered a bonus, although I'm not expecting any.

Does this sound like a fair plan or am I insane?

 

I dug my spuds up two weeks ago, maincrop but the tops were totally dead.
Nothing much under them.

Your dry soil could easily become very wet claggy clay over winter.

 

I've dug them out. I'm putting this crop down as a near total failure. Out of two rows, I've filled one 5 litre pot with spuds. There were about twice as many as that, but half had been slug eaten.

I've never known anything like it. There weren't even many roots under there. No wonder the tops didn't look like much was happening.

 

I've never tried alfalfa but have tried vetch, another legume, as green manure and its been a disaster, just tends to die without making much growth.

 

It's cost me all of £4.70 for the seeds including delivery, and the front garden is doing nothing now til next spring, so I haven't really got anything to lose by trying.