KItchen and Garden - January 2026

Kitchen and Garden - POTATOES

To chit or not to chit? – that is the question

I have recently been elected as Chair of the Weald Allotment and Gardeners Community Interest Company  and have been helping out at the Allotment Shop getting ready for the potato rush.  The Shop is well stocked with a wide range of First Early, Second Early and Maincrop varieties.  Our volunteers, who run the shop, get inundated with questions, especially about the differences and whether to chit or not to chit.

The Weald Shop

Varieties in stock at The Weald Shop

Your questions answered

In an attempt to help, I have put together the following advice

EARLY or MAINCROP – What’s the difference?

CHITTING – What is it and why?

WHERE SHOULD I PLANT THEM?

Early potatoes (first and second earlies) have a shorter growing season, produce smaller "new potatoes", and are harvested in summer, ideal for fresh eating, while maincrop potatoes take longer to mature, yield larger tubers, are harvested in late summer/autumn, and are suitable for storing. 

The recommended planting time for First Early potatoes is March/April (harvest in June-August); Second Earlies April/May (harvest July-September) and for Maincrop, April/May (harvest in September-October). These timings are approximate and with our relatively warm, mild climate in the UK I have had success on the south coast in Hove with earlier planting than those recommended. My friends in the north might be advised to stick to recommended planting times

Chitting is optional but is particularly useful for Early varieties as it gives them a head start, leading to quicker growth and earlier harvests. Basically, chitting is getting the potatoes to produce shoots in the light. Chitting will produce earlier, stronger shoots and, hopefully, a more abundant crop. You can plant unchitted potatoes for a perfectly good, athough slightly later, crop.  Keep your potatoes in a dark, cool, frost-free place until ready to chit or plant (and never in plastic bags!). Potatoes stored in a warm, dark environment will produce weak shoots. Bring potatoes out for chitting about 4-6 weeks before planting – start chitting from late January onwards for Earlies.

To chit, I put mine (earlies) in a tray or egg boxes, with the “eyes” uppermost (this is where the shoots will appear, often called the “rose end”) in a light cool place – around 10C is ideal – an attic, porch, unheated conservatory or shed is probably OK.  Mine are under a window in our currently unheated loft conversion. (If we have visitors I will need to find somewhere else for them!) You want short purple/green stubby sprouts. If you get long spindly growth its either too damp, too warm or there is not enough light.

Red Duke of York (First Earlies) prepared for chitting

Planting: Potatoes like rich, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter, such as garden compost or well-rotted manure. Ideally this should have been applied in the autum or early winter – if not, you can apply a 10cm layer of garden compost or well-rotted manure after planting the potatoes. Adding organic matter will feed your soil, but you can also apply a general-purpose fertiliser, or one specially for potatoes, to increase yields if needed. THE WEALD SHOP HAS A SUPPLY OF POTATO FERTILISER IN STOCK (January 2026)

Our shop at the Weald has free Growing Guide leaflets provided by our supplier (extracts below)

You can rub off some of the shoots if there are too many – fewer shoots will result in fewer, but larger potatoes – lots of shoots will produce more but smaller potatoes. The growing shoots of newly planted potatoes are not frost-resistant, so it is worth covering or “earthing up” the potatoes when the shoots emerge until risk of frost has passed.

If you are new to the game, don’t just take my advice, talk to any neighbours who like gardening; find out what works for them – neighbours are often the best source of local information and advice – or consult a reputable website such as the RHS (links below) or a garden centre/supplier

https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/potatoes/grow-your-own

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/features/spring-potato-tips

John Austin

January 2026, Hove

Life on The Weald - December 2025

and festive distractions

Monday 1 December

The first day of winter saw heavy rain, wild winds and flood warnings but a relatively high temperature of 12 C.  Thankfully we avoided the floods, but it was not a day for gardening.

Tuesday 2 December

With the arrival of visitors, a trip to the allotment was not on the cards - instead we went shopping along London Road and the Open Market where I was intrigued by this imaginative perpetual tap! 🤣

Saturday 6 December

Our daughter-in-law was in search of Holly for wreath-making for charity and one of our plot holders was willing to let us raid his tree which was covered with berries. We also collected lots of bay from our own tree.  Sylvi's son Luke was a great help in collecting 5 barrow loads of manure and delivering it to our plot.

We picked lots of chard and lifted a few leeks to make our own version of Spanokopita  using bought readymade puff pastry instread of filo.

6 December - Spanokopita

Thursday 11 December

I managed a bit of weeding aroud the garlic which was just emerging behind the broad beans, but the encroaching couch grass among the raspberries needs tackling.

11 December -  broad beans (foreground)  with garlic behind

Saturday 13 December

We had a plentiful supply of crushed eggshells which I spread around the garlic and the broad beans, hopefully as a deterrent to slugs and snails, but also to improve the texture and fertility of the soil.

13 December - Garlic

I had taken home the woody branches from the Bay tree and put them through the wood shredder, together with some eucalyptus prunings and used these  to continue repairs to the footpath, spreading them on a layer of cardboard.

13 December - laying cardboard for the path

13 December - spreading the prunings

13 December - path partly renewed

With the possibility of frosts, I spread a layer of strulch around the broad beans,

13 December - a Strulch mulch for the broad beans

We also picked a few Brussels sprouts......

13 December - Sprouts

......and some beetroot, traditional red Boltardy and some rainbow, which we took home to cook.

home grown and home cooked beetroot

Wedneday 17 December

Luke had deposited the manure in a pile on the bed which had been "3 sisters" for the past two years but where I plan to grow potatoes in 2026.  I had laid down some carboard on top of the cut down stems from the sweetcorn, and thickly spread the manure on top of the cardboard.  The layer was rather thick so I think I will take some later for another bed.

17 December - next year's potato bed

I also spread some woodchip as a mulch around the currant bushes, but am a little worried that, with climate change, they think it's spring and are coming into leaf already! Let's hope we don't get harsh frosts.

17 December - budding blackcurrants

I lifted more leeks and beetroot.....

17 December - remaining leeks

...and tried to straighten the walk-in cage which, following strong winds, was at a jaunty angle.  Inside the frame I was pleased to see the purple sprouting broccoli was beginning to sprout.

17 December - purple sprouting broccoli

17 December - purple sprouting broccoli

17 December - purple sprouting broccoli

The next few days saw heavy rain.

Saturday 20 December

I had good intentions but it was very wet underfoot.  I did a little hoeing/weeding around the garlic but then called it a day.

Wednesday 24 December

Time for the traditional, obligatory Xmas Eve visit to harvest the sprouts.

Xmas Eve - harvesting the sprouts

Monday 29 December

It was difficult to drag myself away from the indoor warmth following the Xmas break but there was news of a delivery of free compost by the Council and if you snooze, you lose because it is soon gone.  I made an appeal to fellow plot-holders to limit themselves to no more than one barrow load per plot and my plea appears to have been heeded.

I bagged up our share, ready for top dressing when the planting season comes.

29 December - arrival of the compost

Tuesday/Wednesday 30 - 31 December

More visitors, so no more allotmenteering this year.  A glorious sunset, seen from the window, but too late to see it in all its glory from the beach.

30 December - Hove sunset

An early morning stroll down to the harbour to buy fish for a New Year's Eve feast and see the sun rising over Hove beach

New Year's Eve - sun rising Hove beach

New Year's Eve - Early morning at Shoreham Harbour, Portslade

And in the afternoon, a stroll across the lock to see the sun setting at Southwick beach.

New Year's Eve - Shoreham Harbour from the lock gates

A disappointing sunset at Southwick so we didn't stay till the end but retreated back to the warmth - we should have come yesterday....

New Year's Eve - Southwick beach

.... and spent the rest of the evening with Jools and the Hootenanny and watching Sadiq's Thames' fireworks on the TV. .. and reminiscing about days gone by in Greenwich.

Almost 40 years ago with Jools in Greenwich

Happy New Year - and good growing in 2026

John Austin

Hove, December 2025

 Life on The Weald - November 2025

and something a bit fishy!

Saturday 1 November

We have booked the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe for later in the month to go to the Annual Festival of Herrings and Scallops, but we noticed that the Newhaven Ferry was celebrating its 200th anniversary with an exhibition at the Newhaven Port, which we decided to visit.

1 November - poster at the Newhaven Museum

Apparently the growth of the ferry business resulted from the arrival of the railway, also celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.  That was before the days of mass tourism; the ferry service was mainly freight, and the passengers were the elite upper classes but in the 19th century the fastest route from London to Paris was via Brighton and Newhaven.

Sunday 2 November

At the allotment there had been a welcome delivery of woodchip.

2 November - woodchip

After collecting some woodchip, I lifted a few leeks to see how they were doing and was pleased that there appeared to be no sign of the dreaded Allium leaf miner.

2 November - Leeks

I lifted the fleece from the broad beans and sowed some more to fill the gaps.  I was also able to lift a large beetroot. The Brussels sprouts were looking good but I was worried they were rather early and might "blow" (ie open) before Christmas.

2 November - sprouts

Monday 3 November

I had to be on site today, in my new role as Chair of the allotment association, to meet a plumber to deal with a blockage in our accessible toilet.  Oh the joy of high office!  I did use the opportunity to collect some more woodchip but had no time to do anything with it.

Tuesday 4 November 

I did some handweeding near the recently planted purple sprouting broccoli and planted another row, which I then covered with a new cloche.  The woodchip came in handy for making a path between the rows and between the broccoli and the sprouts and between the broccoli and the chard.

4 November - newly planted broccoli

4 November - cloches in place

Wednesday 5 November

Lots of leaves in the garden - but not for stuffing the Guy - for mulching my dahlias and building the raised bed along the garden fence.  We also took the opportunity of relocating some of the planters and statues.

5 November - its not a desecrated graveyard!
Re-organising the garden - a work in progress

Saturday 8  November

I had collected lots more leaves from the front garden and used these to mulch the rhubarb on the plot, leaving the crowns clear, to prevent damp rot, and placing flowerpots over them to force the rhubarb. Normally I would do this in January or February but the crowns were beginning to sprout already, so this will not only force the rhubarb but protect the crowns from frost.

8 November - mulching the rhubarb

As it was a fine day, I spent some time on the plot making use of the recently acquired woodchip.  I made a start on renewing the central path, speading the woodchip on a layer of cardboard, hopefully suppressing the weeds.

8 November - renewing the path

I also put a layer of woodchip between the bed where the leeks are growing and the area where borlotti beans had grown this year - I had left the bean frame in situ.

8 November - path between the leeks and beans

I made a start on the area where the tromboncinos and cucumbers had grown but with a stiff back decided to call it a day

8 November - weeding left for another day!

Tuesday 11 November

Monday had seen torrential rain but Tuesday was fine.  The ground was very wet, but that made it easier to pull out the weeds, so I finally tackled the overgrown tromboncino and cucumber patches.  In doing so I discovered a rather large cucumber that I had missed!

11 November - the overgrown cucumber frame

11 November - cucumber area partially cleared

We then tidied the area around the bean frame, and tromboncino and cucumber patches and laid wood chip around the edges and mulched the growing areas with autumn leaves.  There was a good supply of spinach and chard for picking.

11 November - woodchip around the bean frame

At home, I potted up the Tayberry, Asian Medlar and Chinese Mahogany plants that I had bought at the RHS Wisley Gardens.  I had a Tayberry on my previous allotment which I had been very pleased with, so I thought I should try one at The Weald.  I decided to keep it in a pot for its first year before deciding where its permanent home should be.  I was introduced to the Asian or Japanese Medlar in Spain and gave a description in my blog November 2018. Having seen a specimen at Wisley, I decided to try to grow one in the UK.  I cannot recall why I bought the Chinese Mahogany (toona sinensis) as it can grow to over 25 metres (82 feet) tall with a trunk up to 70cms (thats over 2 feet) in diameter!  It did look rather attractive and I assume I was told it's size could be controlled in a container - we shall see!

.

Wednesday 12 November

I was on site most of the day, but not getting much done as I had to be there for the electricians who were testing the wiring and sockets for our allotment association building to provide an Electrical Condition Report.

Friday 14 - Sunday 16 November

Another weekend lost for gardening as it was the Annual Festival of Herrings and Scallops in Dieppe.

Poster for the Herrings and scallops Festival

As we live only 12 miles from Newhaven its only a 13 mile drive from home to the centre of Dieppe (with a 4 hour ferry ride across the channel). We set off in the morning, with lunch on board and plenty of time for a bit of shopping before dinner.

We had booked a table at The Turbot, which Rick Stein had described as one of his favourite restaurants - we were not disappointed.

14 December - pre-dinner Dieppe sky from our B&b

14 November at Le Turbot - my Scallops with girolles

14 November - Sylvi's medley of seabass, turbot and monkfish
with the obligatory scallop

Saturday was the actual festival and a day to feast on the herrings and scallops available on dozens of street stalls along the dockside - and, of course, the occasional oyster and glass of champagne.

15 November - herrings

15 November - herrings

15 November - herrings and scallops

 

15 November - Cheers!

Monday 17 November

I cleared weeds around the original Hugel bed, where onions are growing, and put down a layer of cardboard covered with woodchip around the bed.

17 November - woodchip around the onion bed

I continued to clear around the cucumber frame putting a mulch of leaves on the growing area and woodchip around the periphery.

We seem to have had a visitor who left paw prints on the fleece cloche!

17 November - mystery paw prints

We think it was probably a hedgehog.

Wedneday 19 November

It was time to plant the tulips at home.  I reorganised the troughs in the back garden and planted 10 Dow Jones (red and yellow) and 10 Fireworks (yellow and red)  in two troughs. In the front garden, I changed the soil in the troughs and removed the pelargoniums which were still flowering.  In one trough I planted 10 Rasta Parrot tulips (red, orange and yellow) and 10 mixed crocus and then replanted 2 pelargoniums and 2 cyclamen.  In a second trough I planted 10 Silver Parrot tulips (pink and silver) and 10 mixed crocus and replanted a cyclamen. In a third trough I planted 10 Helmar tulips (red and yellow).  In the first stone trough I planted 5 Lemon Beauty (white with yellow) tulips and 5 One Direction (white with red). In the second stone trough I planted 10 Fabio tulips (red with yellow fringe).  In a square pot I planted 5 Amber glow and in the remaining plastic troughs planted 10 Amazing Parrot (pink and orange) and 10 tulips (orange and yellow)

Thursday 20 November

I harvested the remaining squashes.

20 November - the last of the squashes

A neighbour very kindly gave me a couple of her sweet potatoes and I lifted my own Yacón, (Peruvian ground apple) which had been growing in a pot.

20 November - Yacón (L) & sweet potato (R)

I found this article in The Guardian of interest.

Wednesday 26 November

Having picked the squashes, we cleared most of the weeds from the 3 sisters bed.  We chopped up the sweetcorn stems and those from the Jerusalem artichokes and spread them on the soil which we then covered with cardboard and then a pile of leaves, ready to add manure and compost at a later date.

26 November - 3 sisters bed

There were windfall apples everywhere.  It had been an amazing year for all fruit.

26 November - windfalls

The garlic was just beginning to sprout...

26 November - first signs of garlic

...and the recently sown broad beans were also beginning to show.

26 November - broad beans

27 November

Sylvi cleared some of the lower trays from the wormeries. The contents were not fully composted but rich in worms, so we added some of this to the leaves on the 3 sisters bed to let nature do its work over the winter.

27 November - Sylvi's worms

Saturday 29 November

Arrival of our first Christmas card and the first Christmas flowering cactus (Schlumbergera) to flower!

29 November - Schlumbergera & first Christmas card 

Sunday 30 November

We harvested some of the beetroots which have been excellent this year, both the traditional red Boltardy and the red, yellow and white varieties.

30 November - beetroot

We also lifted some leeks. Sadly my earlier optimism had been misplaced as there was evidence of allium leaf miner, although the damage did not appear to be as extensive as previous years.  I will not be putting the waste from the leeks in the compost as the larvae are likely to survive, so surplus leaves will go to the council waste centre.  Commercial and municipal bulk composting will reach sufficiently high temperature to kill off any larvae and other pests.

30 November - leeks

We also picked a few of the lower sprouts to accompany the leeks and roasted beetroot for our last Sunday dinner before winter.

John Austin

Hove, November 2025