Potato Pots make it easier to grow your own potatoes

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Agralan Potato Pots

Pick your own new potatoes week after week throughout the season with the new Potato pot.

New potatoes ready to pick in 8 weeks (10 weeks if the potatoes haven’t been chitted). Simply lift the inner pot and pick the larger tubers, leaving the smaller ones to grow on.

M681 Potato Pot (single) £7.99

M686 Potato Pot (pack of 3) £21.99

This is one of those absolute great ideas for those who wish to grow some of their own food but who have little garden space or no garden at all.

Pots like this can be places almost anywhere, by the front door, by the back door, on the patio, on a balcony, you name it, and thus some potatoes, that is to say some food, can be grown in even the smallest of spaces.

Growing instructions:

• Place the inner pot in the outer pot and half fill with a multi-purpose compost.

• Place 3 seed potatoes in a triangle shape about 10cm apart in line with the openings on the inner pot.

• Cover the potatoes over with more compost and water them thoroughly and place the Potato Pot in a warm and bright location.

• As the shoots appear and get to between 5-10cm high cover them with more compost.

• Repeat this until the compost level is about 2-3cm from the top of the pot.

• Continue to water regularly, preferably daily and feed with a liquid feed.

• You can follow the development by lifting the inner pot up once the plants are well established (after approx. 5 weeks)

• After approx. 10 weeks you can begin harvesting your own new potatoes - right up until the arrival of the first frost of the autumn.

• To harvest, lift the inner pot and carefully remove the larger tubers, leaving more to grow.

Tips:

• You can start harvesting up to 2 weeks earlier by pre-sprouting seed potatoes, also known as 'chitting'. Place them in a light, frost free location with the bud end upwards. Egg boxes are ideal for this as it stops the potatoes falling over. This can be done from February.

• The process can be started in a greenhouse but once the potatoes have sprouted they should be moved outdoors.

• Do not place outside until after the last frost.

• Potatoes cannot withstand frost. If there is a chance of frost, move the pot indoors or cover with Envirofleece 30g or a Plant Cosie.

• The plants can be cut back to approx. 25cm in height if they become lanky.

New shoots will form.

• Use the 'earlies' potato varieties you like the best.

• Do not use a soil based compost, say Agralan. However, this last recommendation here by the makers is something that I must strongly disagree with as I have grown good crops of potatoes even in “ordinary” soil rather than compost.

This type of pot has given me an idea, and I know I should not really say this as the people would like to sell their potato pots, and that is as to whether it is possible to recycle or upcyle some small tree tubs (pots) that I have got (and which often can be had for little to nothing at garden centers, and especially council yards after municipal tree plantings, into such potato planters. I think it can be done and would be quite easy.

© 2015

Enviromesh and imitations

Enviromesh and imitations

A statement by Agralan Limited

Enviromesh was introduced to the UK market in 1991 following several years of development in Europe.

Before it was marketed Enviromesh had been tested for durability with 5 years continuous exposure.

As the years followed, experience allowed us to increase the life expectancy first to 7 years and then to 10 years.

As the usage of Enviromesh increased so a number of companies have tried to copy it.

Unfortunately these copies, even where they claim to be, are not identical to Enviromesh and may well not perform as well in the garden.

Agralan's concern is that poor results with imitations may adversely affect the reputation of Enviromesh.

The qualities which may suffer are weight, air movement, light transmission and durability. While most of these qualities are apparent by inspection of the weave, this is not possible with durability which is dependent on quality of the thread.

To summarize:-

• Heavier materials may restrict crop growth.
• If a product is colored, light transmission will be affected.
• If the mesh size if smaller it will not be suitable for long term covering of crops.
• If the thread is not the same durability may be affected.
• If a product has not been in use for more than 10 years any claim that it will last 10 years should be questioned.

Agralan Limited

The Old Brickyard

Ashton Keynes, Swindon

Wiltshire SN6 6QR

www.agralan.co.uk

This information is presented for your information only.

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.

Threadhoe from Agralan – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The Threadhoe is a little hand-held hoe that allows weeds to be removed from the smallest of areas without damaging plants. It has been developed in Sweden by specialists in hoe design and the ergonomic design prevents wrist strain.

New from Agralan, and shortlisted for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden Product of the Year 2012 – the winner however was the Harrod Slot & Lock Framework Building System – comes the Threadhoe, a clever little hand tool that aims to take the pain out of weeding.

The Threadhoe has been ergonomically designed to act as an extension of the hand. It takes the strain off your wrist and uses the power in your shoulder, reducing the force required to hold it firmly.

It has been designed in Sweden by Olle Danielson, a keen gardener, who at the age of 60 suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. All the usual handled tools made weeding uncomfortable and exhausting to both his wrist and elbow. So he came up with this unique design, to make weeding gentler and more effective.

The narrow end is 25mm (1 inch) wide and allows weeding in confined spaces such as window boxes and pots, the wide end is 65mm (2.5 inches) and can be used in larger areas such as flower beds and vegetable patches. The 2mm stainless steel threads are easy to push into the ground, and loosen the soil to a depth of 65mm (2.5 inches), allowing weeds to be pulled free without damaging plants. Because it is made from stainless steel and plastic you can leave it safely outside without having to worry about it rusting. Personally I would still bring it in with me always. Even stainless steel will, eventually, rust. That is a fact.

This is and ideal tool for gardeners who like to kneel or sit while weeding and can be used in any direction by both left- and right-handed gardeners, which is nice. While not being a southpaw I do bemoan the fact though that tools for the left-handed users are so limited and, in addition to that, often twice as expensive.

The Threadhoe is also safe for children to use without risk of injury, and it comes in a variety of colors.

The normal retail price is 6.99 GBP

I have tried and tested the Threadhoe from Agralan and must say that I love it. It cuts into the soil fast and efficiently, loosens the soil and with it the weeds, making it easy for them to be removed, roots and all.

Despite the fact that there could only be one winner in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden Product of the Year 2012 competition the Threadhoe would have been my choice but it will be a winner in other aspects.

As I said, it's a winner...

© 2012