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RE: Growing Potatoes
Errrrrrmmmmmm........ good question, and I have no idea whatsoever... oops! I have been a bit of a whimsical gardener this year... not getting anything planted at the right times but just having a general attitude of "It be right" (I'm from the Yorkshire Dales, England) and planting anyway. I have decided to put together a diary for next year though and be more organised about it! This year I'm just keeping them all alive and hoping for the best :-)
So you are in southern Ireland right? It's difficult not knowing the climate exactly but I assume it's rather on the wet side and doesn't get too terribly hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. We have to get your climate figured out first, then I can help with what might grow well there and when to plant things.
I'm up in the northwest coast, County Donegal, about 2 miles from the sea and a forest inbetween. It gets super stormy and wet, and even quite cool temperatures in summer. Most days are overcast and showery. The last couple winters have been milder than usual and very wet. Autumns are usually quite warm until about mid-October when the storms come and it gets chilly.
ok so tomatoes will have big trouble up there. Your best things to grow will be cool loving crops such as anything in the cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, etc). Any leafy greens like lettuce and root vegetables should do fine. Peas are good and you may get away with beans since they are easy. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant will have problems. Squash and cucumbers may work well since they love water but they may be slow due to the cool weather. There's some ideas. What are you interested in growing?
Ah ok yes, because tomatoes etc need lots of sunshine and warmth right?! I never stop hoping for a decent summer haha! Honestly I love all kinds of veg and fruit and would happily grow anything because I really would like to grow instead of buy. Organic food is so pricey but I refuse to poison my family with pesticides and GMOs so surely anyone's fingers can become 'green' with determination and experience over a few years! I'm glad you say broccoli would do well as broccoli is my ultimate love and I'd marry it if I could ;-) Thanks for this advice @garden-to-eat!
haha don't get your husband jealous of a vegetable.
Hee hee :-) He doesn't understand my passion for broccoli at all :-)