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Growing your own potatoes

In March this year a few of us spent a bit of time in the school garden, weeding and planting new plants. My friend put a few potatoes in a sack of dirt and left it. No-one at the school was remotely interested and I don’t think they even showed or discussed it with the children. I think gardening should be a part of the school curriculum but they’ll probably laugh at me if I suggest it.

Before the summer holidays the sack was full of foliage but when school started again all of it had died down. I wasn’t sure what that meant as I’ve never grown potatoes before but I decided to empty the sack and have a look. Here’s what I found:

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I was really impressed and offered them to a few parents who were standing around watching as I emptied the sack but no-one wanted them so we took them home and made chips:

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They were delicious! Daniel even said they were almost as good as chips you get in a restaurant. He’s not usually complimentary about my cooking and so this is very high praise coming from him.

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Rachel M

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13 responses to “Growing your own potatoes”

  1. Gemma Evans Avatar
    Gemma Evans

    Fantastic! A mighty fine crop you’ve got there 🙂 I’m shocked no-one else was interested in taking any though. When the tops die down it means they have finished growing, although you can harvest them when they flower too. I agree that gardening should be part of the curriculum.

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      I’m not a big fan of potatoes but I’ve never eaten any straight from the dirt before and these were nice. I think they taste better when they’re fresh, like most things 🙂

      Reply
  2. Chaitanya Avatar
    Chaitanya

    Wow. Both the spuds and chips look delicious! I want some NOW, but I need to finish lunch and be on time to my next live chat shift 😀

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Don’t want to be late for live chat 🙂

      Reply
  3. anniegoldfisher Avatar
    anniegoldfisher

    I would have loved some of those chips! I love Daniel’s comment. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      They were really good!

      Reply
  4. Norman Avatar
    Norman

    The chips look great! At Garthdee Field Allotments we have had great success with our local Primary School visits. The kids seem to love learning out of doors. You can see something of their excitement at http://www.garthdeeallotments.org and following the Kaimhill links on the right.

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      That’s wonderful! Are the Garthdee Allotments the ones next to the Deeside cycleway? How does one get an allotment there? And how are the school visits organised? I’d be very happy to pass along information to the school about it a possible visit.

      Reply
      1. Norman Avatar
        Norman

        Yes, we are wedged between the new houses and Pitfoddels Station Road. A small spur from the Deeside line takes you down along side the Station Road to a gate in the iron fence. Visitors are always welcome. Ours is a Council site and plots are allocated by a lady called Pat Wilson who works out of the Kittybruster Office. We always have a waiting list, but it’s relatively short right now I think. Our school visits happen in the summer term and we would be delighted to hear from Ferryhill. I look after school contacts for the association. Feel free to pass them my email address.

  5. Val Avatar
    Val

    Well done! I miss potatoes as I’m intolerant to the whole of the edible nightshade family and daren’t eat them any more. But my husband grew potatoes every year for the last few years except this one. You can get grow bags for them. The ones in your photos look lovely. If you get a chance try growing some blue potatoes. They take a bit of getting used to appearance-wise but I recall them as being a very nice flavour and texture.
    Oh and yes, I agree with you: gardening should be taught in schools. .

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      I didn’t realise some people couldn’t eat potatoes. I tend not to eat potatoes, not because of any intolerance, but because they’re terrible for diabetics. I’m not diabetic but I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and so I’m at a higher risk of developing the disease later in life. A few every now and again are ok though so I’m keen to grow some more, especially since it’s so easy to do.

      Reply
      1. Val Avatar
        Val

        That decision sounds wise. Have you a sweet tooth? That one must always be difficult for a diabetic or pre-diabetic. I have hypoglycaemia, so should also cut out simple carbs but alas my willpower is pretty non-existent (particularly if there is any chocolate about!)

      2. Rachel M Avatar
        Rachel M

        Oh yes. I love sweets. 🙂

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