21 Mar - Onion Sets & Early Potatoes Go In

It's a bit later than mid-March and we've had a few days of fine weather, ideal for getting the onion sets and early potatoes in the plot. I pulled the covers off a bed and prepared it on the 26th February and popped some garlic cloves in one section. The garlic is already showing strongly and I'm pleased with the way it's getting on. That indicated that it was warm enough for the onions to go in now too. (Pictured - garlic sprouting).

I raked over a section of bed next to the garlic and added a sprinkle of fertilizer though this bed was one of those I took over last summer so it hasn't had veg growing in it for at least two years. I dug it and cleaned it last summer and covered it for the Winter.

On the 20th March the onions went in. The onion sets are my usual 'Sturon' which performed so well last year. I still have pounds of large onions in store that we are slowing getting through. When it comes to putting out the sets, I simply push them into the soft, prepared earth up to the stalk in nice lines. It's an easy way to get decent onions.

The next day I cleared the last of the Brussels Sprouts and roughly hand forked the bed for the early spuds. This season I have an entire 32 by 6 foot bed for early potatoes due to my extra room. I planted out two rows of 30 'Rocket', making 60 potatoes in all - Rocket did well for me last season with the family eating them from the 3rd June last summer - literally 10 weeks from planting. (Pictured - a row of early spuds go into a trench).

Added to the Rocket first earlies I have decided to plant out some second earlies - I've never bothered with second earlies before as I never had the room but I do now of course. So, next to the two rows of Rocket I have planted a row of 26 tubers of Maris Peer second early potatoes. I've a complete bed of 86 tubers that should start cropping from early June. What is great for me this season is that I can dig and use as needed rather than having to take the lot up in one go to re-use the ground. Hopefully this lot will last most of the summer. (Pictured - the two rows of early and one row of second early potatoes).

After a little rest from the digging, I took the covers off another bed over the new side and turned it over with the tiller ready for the main crop potatoes which will go in around mid-April. A cheeky little Robin took advantage of my hard work too!