polite scrummage..

Day 207 #365DaysWild

Nottingham Organic Gardeners have established their potato day firmly in the local gardening calendar : NOGs Potato Day.

Such anticipation looking through the lists and choosing varieties that will go on to feed us in the months ahead. There are few more-satisfying gardening experiences than pulling up the potato haulm and spilling the golden potatoes onto the soil surface.

Way back in the seventies we were once described as being pretentious when discussing the different qualities of different potato varieties. We knew what all gardeners have always known that different varieties suit different conditions and have identifiable differences. Salad potatoes, early varieties, best for mash or jackets… 

And the flavour and density of potatoes grown organically in undug soil cannot be rivalled.

The disengagement with food and gardening was there then as it is now.

We joined a jolly queue of the faithful and were filmed by BBC Gardeners’ World! 

In the ensuing polite scrummage we bagged;

Acoustic

Allouette

Charlotte

Marfona

Picasso

A stalwart of ours over many years is Kestrel. This was not available but we’ll go against advice and use our harvested crop from last year as seed in 2024.

Now to wait for the tubers to sprout (or chit) in trays in anticipation of the best lunar planting day in March.