gardener cook Jojo is longing for the soil to bring forth her spring crop of potatoes and getting creative wit h wi llow on her allotment WORDS JOJO TULLOH LLUSTRA-IONS SARAH YOUNG T here)s nothing na tural about garden ing. Untended, rny plot \\'Ould he a 'natural' tang.le of bindweed and brnn1bles. Februar )' is the mon th \\•hen the annual pr<K'd$ of bullying the earth into s ubmission begins again. In his book l<V'nlden, ,.,, riuen in th e 19th cttllury. Thoreau described the paraCk)X O( encouraging On e plant while suppressing another as'ma kjn g th e ye ll ow soil exprffl iLS sun1rner though t in bean leaves and ra ther than in \'/Orm\\'OOd and piper and n1 i JJet grass. making the earth say beans instead or grass': Ri ght now I \\'an t th e ear th to say potatoes. I've betn stuck in a 'Charlotte'/'Pink Fir Apple' rut for several years> so I \\ 1 tn t looking for some ne,\•-10-n1e that \v i JI crop either early or late as this best suits Lhe rhyth rns o r ou r Stunrners. I spoke to Andre\'/ Skea \V hOgrows organic and heritage Stttl p<>ta toes jus t outside Du ndee. Ii is choice ( or the backyard gardener \"ho \\'ants high )'ields and b light resistance without r eoourte to pesticides, is to go organic. " Vile grow varieties tha t suit org anic pr od uction and have good disease resistance. You can't go wrong with the first earl)' 'Colleen>,» he SU)'S. Lift when t he plants are sti JI grte n fOr a \vaxier potato. An drtv/s other fu\IOuri1e i s'Sarp-0 Mirn' a red·skinned cultivar that stores \\'ell and has hi g_h blight rtsistanct) whi ch he sells thro ugh Skea Orga nics (skta.eu), in l kg bags (or £.2. 20. An dm,, also sells' J·lighland Red a colourful 5:a l ad potato that cornbines a good earthy lla vour \\'ilh a dark·purple skin and a SUPPORTI NG ROLES S...-nmer's abl.rldance may seem a long vmyoff but there w• come a time when exuberant gl'O.\<th needs to be kept 1n checkot gil.oen support.NO\v1s the brne to(J(der a bundle of \villow rods to create a structure for future beans. peas and gourds to clamber up. Or think about planting an eye-catching climber, such as a kiwi°' a vine. Take advantage of a bngtit day to do something constructive and cte.att1.oe:weavea willow arch. teepee°' dome as a support for the drnbers to come. or make a simple edge to your beds \Vtth shorter. more flexiblesticks(one·metre rods are perfect) bent over to form Resh streaked pink and \\'hite, and '"hid1 rnakes unusual pink rnash or chips. Another col oured cuhivar \\ 'Orth lr)'ing i s' Salad Blue: a main crop potato "' ith a good lla vour and blue ll esh; both rost £.2.40 !or Ikg. Use either l)' pe to 1 nake a gm tin guaranteed to start a co1n-ersation at th e d i nn er table (see recipes next page). B)' February, frost and deca)' will have caused most plants to die back $0 have a good look at t he bone structure of your plot an d impo se order if needs be. To avoid con1pac1ing the soil it> s best to avoid stepping on the earth unnecessarily so 1 nake surt all beds are easil)' by paths. Old carpets art a fa\'Ou ril'e rec)'Cled n1a1erlal on all ot 1 ntnt·s but having rtcently s li pped up spectacularly on paths slirny \\'ith rnud I've laid nt\v \\ 1 0odchip paths on a black "'eed supprtssant fabric base. I've al so pl anted a fe nce of single larer espalier or step 4 0\'er app les. T hese are one·)'tar,d\\•ar( root s1ocks pl anted and tr immed to 30cnl and tied to a stake. Later on in August, "'hen three shoots develop) f'IJ trim the shortest to One bud, then bend the two S trongtsl and tie thtnl tO a cane attached to a ho ri'l..ontal "'ire stretched behveen hvO posts. I've always liked the sound of Ed,vard Bunyar <l's favouri te 'Blenheinl Oran ge'but, ha\'in gdiSCO\'ertd th at Ch ristopher LIO)'d d ubbed it 'old \\'OOIJy pan t'S; I've gone !or h .... O or Llord)s prtferences: 'Jan lts G rieve: "'hid1 is juicy an d lrngran1 an d both a cooker and an eater, al ong '"ith and flushed red one side. overlapping low hoops. These are CJ,Jick to make but provide tidy, attractive divisions. Somerset V/ibt Growers (will owgrowers.co. uk ) sells buff willow rods in varying lengths, with prices starting at £12 for 2kg bundles (a\'etage 54 rods). These need to soak for around two to five hours (depending on length) before you use them. If you'rewotned about thirsty roots. choose dry willow. but if you want a leafy structure, \l/ndrush V/illow near Exeter is holding a one-clay beginner's C01Xse on \Yeavtng hvi'lg willow on lS February. Vesit wlndrushwil1ow.com for details. 27
Jojo is longing for the soi l to bring forth her spring crop of
potatoes and getting creative with wi llow on her allotment
WORDS JOJO TULLOH LLUSTRA-IONS SARAH YOUNG
T here)s noth ing natural about gardening. Untended, rny plot
\\'Ould he a 'natural' tang.le of bindweed and brnn1bles. Februar)'
is the month \\hen the annual pr so I \\1tnt looking for some
ne,\-10-n1e ~ult ivan> that \viJI crop either early or late as
th is best suits Lhe rhyth rns o r our Stunrners. I spoke to
Andre\'/ Skea \VhO grows organic and heritage Stttl ptatoes just
outside Dundee. Ii is choice (or the backyard gardener \"ho \\'ants
high )'ields and b light resistance without reoourte to pesticides,
is to go organic. " Vile grow varieties that suit organ ic p
roduction and have good disease resistance. You can't go wrong with
the fir st earl)' 'Colleen>, he SU)'S. Lift when the plants are
stiJI grten fOr a \vaxier potato. Andrtv/s other fu\IOuri1e
is'Sarp-0 Mirn' a redskinned cultivar that stores \\'ell and has h
ig_h blight rtsistanct) which he sells through Skea Organics
(skta.eu), in lkg bags (or .2.20. Andm,, also sells'Jlighland Red
Burgund)~ a colourful 5:alad potato that cornbines a good ear th y
llavour \\' ilh a darkpurple skin and a
SUPPORTING ROLES S...-nmer's abl.rldance may seem a long vmyoff
but there w come a time when exuberant gl'O.\s best to avoid
stepping o n the earth u nnecessarily so 1nake surt all beds are
easil)'
ac~ible by paths. Old carpets art a fa\'Ouril'e rec)'Cled
n1a1erlal on allot1ntnts b ut having rtcently slipped up
spectacularly on paths slirny \\'ith rnud I've laid nt\v \\10odchip
paths on a black " 'eed supprtssan t fabric base. I've also planted
a fence o f single larer espalier or step 4 0\'er apples. These are
one)'tar,d\\ar( root s1ocks planted and tr immed to 30cnl and tied
to a stake. Later on in August, "'hen three shoots develop) f'IJ tr
im the shortest to One bud, then bend the two Strongtsl and tie
thtnl tO a cane attached to a hori'l..ontal " ' ire stretched
behveen hvO posts. I've always liked the sound of Ed,vard
Bunyar
