10th Hampshire Potato Day

 

Sat 26 & Sun 27 January 2008

10am - 3pm

Testbourne Community Centre, Micheldever Road, Whitchurch

Entry adults £2, accompanied children free

Pictures of earlier events are here

The 10th Potato Day is open for 2 days. In 2007 we ordered 150 different varieties  - apologies we only managed 145 varieties but 25 of them were also available as organically grown!!!!

This year we are aiming to have over 140 distinct varieties with ~20 also available as organic seed  the list shows what we have ordered

All at 14p per tuber or in competitively priced 2.5kg nets

Selection of potatoes from an RHS Gold Medal winning display

What you could grow after a visit to Potato Day!

Thompson & Morgan have promised to supply Sarpo Mira and Sarpo Axona, the new, blight-resistant varieties.

There'll be a free and exclusive coloured potato (see picture here) for each child bringing his/her parents along and the children will get in free

Get advice from an RHS Gold Medal winning grower of over 380 varieties and there will be, in addition to potato seed sales we will have the following:
 

Talks - Chris Bird from Sparsholt College  on both days, history, modern methods, varieties to choose and as many questions as you care to ask!
Cookery demonstrations - on both days
Children's activities and prize competitions
 Refreshments
Runner, Broad and French Beans and Pea seeds and Onion and Shallot sets at very competitive prices - Charlton Park Garden Centre
Heritage seed sales - Thomas Ety Esq & Pennard Plants
Organic vegetables - Harroway Organic Gardens
Herbaceous plants - Tufton Plants and Pennard Plants
Unusual edible plants - Edulis
Home made jam and preserves - Tufton Plants
Organic Vegetable and Herb Seeds - Beans and Herbs
Traditional, cottage garden & vegetable seeds - Delma's Seeds,  Alresford
Recycling - Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council
Oakley Woodlands Group
Hampshire Branch of the National Vegetable Society
Copper Tools - Implementations
Potato Breeders - Jalving Potatoes

A seed swap, bring your seeds to swap for something different

Plus the chance to share your experiences with other growers (over 1,600 attended in 2006 and 7)

The location is Testbourne Centre, Micheldever Road, Whitchurch which is just off the A34, 4 miles north of its junction with the A303. There'll be signs from the A34. (see the map).

When you've visited the Day, why not try out some of Whitchurch's eating places or the Silk Mill - there's a special 2 for the price of one entry tickets for those visiting the Hampshire Potato Day

To advertise the event, there is an A4 poster here and an A5 poster here (2 on one A4 page) they are Microsoft Word documents

Don't rush to get your favourite variety - there will be fresh stock of all varieties each day.

If Whitchurch Hampshire is not close enough there are other Potato Days at Ryton (Nr Coventry), Cheltenham, Dulwich (SE London), Lancaster, Needham Market (Suffolk), Lancaster, Bowburn (Country Durham), Middlesborough, Nescliffe (Shropshire), Saltaire (West Yorkshire) and Galashields (Borders), press here for brief details

Seed Swap

 Seed Swaps are becoming popular at various venues up and down the country with Brighton’s Seedy Sunday being the largest. We will have a selection of seeds available for visitors to swap for those they have brought along, if anyone would like to take more than they bring, a small contribution will cover the “transaction”. All seeds (provided they are viable) are welcome, flowers, vegetables, wild flowers, trees and shrubs, be they home collected or those surplus to requirements from packets overfilled by seed companies. For home collected seed all we ask is that it is labelled with the name of the species, variety and the year it was collected, if it’s unusual some details would be helpful. Pay envelopes (about 3½” x 4½”) are perfect containers but any small envelope will do, provided they are well sealed to stop the seeds leaking out.

Green Manure

 Green manures are a very useful way to build up the fertility in the soil, without have to make and transport compost/manure. Over winter they also dramatically reduce the leaching of nutrients. One problem is that (like lots of potato varieties they are not easily available. We intend to have a small number of the 10 or so main green manures available at over ⅓ off retail prices – there will be a relatively small quantity this year to see how stock goes. We expect to have seed of the following at ~ 65p per packet:
Spring/Summer Late Summer/Overwinter
Alfalfa (lucerne) - coverage 40 sq m
Buckwheat - coverage 15 sq m
Crimson Clover - coverage 30 sq m
Fenugreek - coverage 20 sq m
Field Beans - coverage 6 sq m
Lupin, Blue - coverage 20 sq m
Mustard - coverage 25 sq m
Phacelia - coverage 25 sq m
Grazing Rye - coverage 6 sq m
Trefoil - coverage 35 sq m
Tares - coverage 10 sq m

Organic Fertilisers

Although now available in garden centres the prices are quite high. We will have stocks of (the prices are those based on current supplier costs):
Dried blood - 2kg for ~£3.50
Fish, blood and bone meal - 3kg for ~£2.50
Bone meal - 3kg for ~£2.50
Hoof and horn meal - 2kg for ~£2.50
Seaweed meal - 2kg for ~£3.50

 

This page was last updated on 28th November 2007

This event is sponsored by Whitchurch Gardens Association
and supported by Hampshire Organic Gardening Group, Testbourne Community School Parents', Teachers' and Friends' Association and the Friends of Whitchurch Primary School

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