I've harvested the potatoes from the root bed now. They were attacked by a swarm of 20 spotted (??) lady bugs. I didn't actually realise they were a pest. I understood that ladybugs ate aphids so i was happy to have them. However this is a variety of lady bug that eats leaves. Their lavae were dining quite well by the time i realised what was happening. Considering the time they had been in ground, and not the lack of leaves, I decided to pull the up and I was pleased with the result compares to my other attempts. I got probably 1-2kgs of potatoes from probably 500g of seed potatoes. Considering the soil is still too dense I am happy with that. I've plated one more crop for summer and will harvest in 3-4 months all going well....
So the chronology:
Mid Sep - been in about 2 weeks and were starting to shoot through soil so mulched over the top
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| Mid Sep - been in about 2 weeks and were starting to shoot through soil so mulched over the top | | |
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| Mid Oct - nice green growth, peas are gone, concerned too much nitrogen and not enough fertiliser for the tuber growth |
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| Mid Oct |
I didn't get to take a shot of the pest damage but its firmly etched in my mind....so heres the early Dec harvest result. I'm happy with the taste too :)
