# Grow your own.



## Mad Cook (Jan 2, 2014)

Notice on our local website for M***** Allotments Association:

 "_The association is again hosting a Seed Potato Day. 80 plus varieties of seed potato will be available for both plot holders and the public. Onion Sets, Garlic, Shallots, Soft Fruit, Vegetable Seeds and Summer Flowering bulbs. Light refreshments will be available on the day_"

_EIGHTY_ varieties of seed potato!!!! I'll be after pink fir-apple as they are great for salads in the summer and some of those dark purple-y ones, as I want to see if they stay purple after cooking. I'll be planting them in a couple of those potato bags to save digging the garden.

 Last year they had some really unusual herb seeds. I bought some Good King Henry for salads last year but never got round to planting him so don't know what he tastes like.


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## joesfolk (Jan 2, 2014)

Eighty varieties!   It's a potato fest ....what fun!


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2014)

MC, do you know about growing potatoes in straw, with just a bit of soil on the bottom?


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## Mad Cook (Jan 2, 2014)

taxlady said:


> MC, do you know about growing potatoes in straw, with just a bit of soil on the bottom?


No, never heard of that. I have plenty of straw - both new and used by an extremely dirty horse. I must look that up on t'internet .

The bags are quite good if you don't want to grow potatoes to feed the 5000. Start with a bit of soil and earth up as the greenery gets taller. Infinitely better that having to double dig trenches in the garden. I'm on clay and it's hard work. 

Just looked on a couple of site. Interesting. I expect the straw method would work with bags.

 Thanks for the nod, Taxlady


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2014)

What I really like about the method with the straw is that the potatoes are fairly clean - no mud or soil stuck to them.


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## Kathleen (Jan 2, 2014)

I have a teeny-tiny yard.  I'm fortunate that our city rents garden plots in community garden.


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## CraigC (Jan 3, 2014)

Our environmental conditions down here probably aren't suited for taters.


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## cave76 (Jan 3, 2014)

A hint about using straw in your garden. (bags would be o.k.). Straw comes with a lot of seeds in it. If you use it for mulch, which is very common and very good, you will get a lot of volunteer hay seeds coming up.

The worst thing we ever did, in our very large garden,  was to use rice hulls as a mulch!!!!
Our garden looked like a rice paddy for a while!

An experiment with cocoa hulls---- never got off the ground. A bear came by and shook those bags all over the place; guess it liked chocolate!


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## taxlady (Jan 3, 2014)

cave76 said:


> A hint about using straw in your garden. (bags would be o.k.). Straw comes with a lot of seeds in it. If you use it for mulch, which is very common and very good, you will get a lot of volunteer hay seeds coming up.
> 
> The worst thing we ever did, in our very large garden,  was to use rice hulls as a mulch!!!!
> Our garden looked like a rice paddy for a while!
> ...


That's why you want to make sure to get straw and not hay. Hay intentionally comes with seed heads, 'cause hay is feed and the seeds are extra protein. Straw is bedding and only has unintentional seeds.


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## Whiskadoodle (Jan 3, 2014)

I bought straw bales one year and put down in the spring before the strawberries started sending out runners.  Same thought, clean berries, easy to clean and hardly any dirt.  Fine.   That worked.   The Next year,  the straw had had so many seeds in it, right after the frost lifted and before I could do it again,  there were a trillion oats or grains sprouting and Thisltes.  Ack to the last part !  They are hard to dig out once they take hold,  the grain sprouts lifted pretty easily when the ground was moist.  Lot of weeding though. I didn't repeat this experiment.


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## cave76 (Jan 3, 2014)

taxlady said:


> That's why you want to make sure to get straw and not hay. Hay intentionally comes with seed heads, 'cause hay is feed and the seeds are extra protein. Straw is bedding and *only has unintentional seeds*.



I'm sorry to have to disagree with you, respectively----- but straw often has a *LOT of unintentional seeds in it.*

Not intentionally---- but accidentally. 

Perhaps the straw you buy is more thoroughly thrashed.


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## taxlady (Jan 3, 2014)

cave76 said:


> I'm sorry to have to disagree with you, respectively----- but straw often has a *LOT of unintentional seeds in it.*
> 
> Not intentionally---- but accidentally.
> 
> Perhaps the straw you buy is more thoroughly thrashed.


I'm not sure how we are disagreeing. I meant that the seeds in straw are not  there on purpose, like with hay.

I also wanted to point out the difference. I have spoken to people who complained about the seeds in their straw and it turned out that they had purchased hay, not straw.


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## cave76 (Jan 3, 2014)

Semantics and no face to face contact. It's a b***h. LOL


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## sparrowgrass (Jan 6, 2014)

I have used straw for years to mulch my garden, and the only 'weeds' that come out of the straw are a few wheat plants, which are very easy to uproot.  

So I am disagreeing with you, Cave76.


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## cave76 (Jan 6, 2014)

sparrowgrass said:


> I have used straw for years to mulch my garden, and the only 'weeds' that come out of the straw are a few wheat plants, which are very easy to uproot.
> 
> So I am disagreeing with you, Cave76.



That's fine. Your prerogative---- but I know I'm right. 

Seriously though, I do think that some straw is different because I also used to put down a not too thick layer of straw then scatter lettuce seeds over it. The straw keep the seeds a bit damp and mostly only lettuce came up. It was easy to maintain.


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