Doubts Are Setting In

Tuesday was a poor day with strong winds and scattered snow, hail, sleet and rain showers throughout the day.

I was sorting out some potatoes for the kitchen from last year’s harvest which are kept in the garage. We've still got plenty of potatoes left but as I started to get some out of the top most box I actually noticed a note written on the bottom most box. 

It’s my own “Use By Date Warning” which I've completely forgotten about. I remember some of our Winston potatoes had small holes in them but as they were big specimens I decided there was plenty of usable potato to go at despite the holes. They would just need using up quickly as they wouldn't keep over winter. Well we’re always told not to store damage fruit or vegetables.   

My note couldn't have been much plainer. I wondered what sort of mess would greet me if I investigated the condition of these damaged Winston’s stored in this box since last August. I moved all the boxes above and to my surprise the potatoes were still in excellent condition. 

I’d taken a couple of pictures thinking it would be the making of a decent blog post. It was good to get inside out of the cold and damp. Camera hooked up and pictures downloaded. My first reaction was that the spuds had come out a bit of a funny colour but I didn't think that mattered too much. They were never going to win any prizes for quality. 

Only then did I notice, never mine the colour the potatoes are starting to sprout. So I might have to re think leaving my newly arrived seed potatoes in the garage. I’m sure they’ll be alright whilst the temperature remains just above freezing but perhaps once this spell of cold weather breaks I’ll have to get them into the greenhouse to start chitting. 

Copyright: Original post from Copyright: Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett