# setting potatoes



## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I have seen it on TV but never in reality until today and it is a beautiful day.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Our local farmer 'seeds' a 5 acre field of maize on his own in an hour. Marvelous machine.

Ray.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

The most amazing seeding I ever saw was on our 1st visit to Portugal, maybe 10yrs ago.

The farmer had the grain in his held-out apron and was scattering it to both sides as he walked down the field. It was quite biblical.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

jiwawa said:


> The most amazing seeding I ever saw was on our 1st visit to Portugal, maybe 10yrs ago.
> 
> The farmer had the grain in his held-out apron and was scattering it to both sides as he walked down the field. It was quite biblical.


Thats how our grass was sown 13 years ago by the firm that did the garden, it pored with rain the next day washing most of it to the bottom of the garden and then they wondered why it grew all patchy when it did grow,
there was a nice thick strip at the bottom of the garden.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Remains biblical in Israel
The main crop is harvested the remaining of the crop is left for the gleaners 
We plant a small amount of potatoes in a container every year
Something magical about lifting a crop of potatoes from the soil even though they only provide a couple or so of meals

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Long time since it was a four men and a boy job round here too. They also have the big machine to do it here. Harvesting is a different matter. It seems to take a lot of man hours for the one on the harvester and the two driving tractors with trailers to lift them all. They had to build a lagoon and lay pipes to the dry Norfolk fields in order to water them all through the summer. When you think of the price of potatoes it does make you wonder how it can be worth it. The farmer round here that grows them is a multi millionaire (has other interests apart from farming) and nothing he does would dare to not turn him a profit. Drives around in a 25 year old Merc...


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Surely they have potato planters and harvesters these days.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

That's the one!


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

JanHank said:


> Thats how our grass was sown 13 years ago by the firm that did the garden, it pored with rain the next day washing most of it to the bottom of the garden and then they wondered why it grew all patchy when it did grow,
> there was a nice thick strip at the bottom of the garden.


All my life I sowed grass seed that way. We had machines but by the time they got one out. figured out the calibration (how fast to walk and how much to open the outlet) i'd have had the job done by hand. It used to annoy the crap out of my staff, they just couldn't seen to get the hang of it. Though on anything over an acre I'd use the machine too.

When I was a lad people used a thing called a fiddle but carrying a bag of seed and doing it by hand was faster.


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## Gretchibald (Jul 22, 2011)

Found a 'seed fiddle' in one or out sheds, donated to local museum. When we were boys one day we picked spuds for a local farmer , he gave us a bowl of broth and some bread at lunch time , but at the end of the day he said " Ok boys , fill your pockets , that's your pay ", we were standing in a pair of jeans and t shirts . We came back later that night with bags.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Gretchibald said:


> Found a 'seed fiddle' in one or out sheds, donated to local museum. When we were boys one day we picked spuds for a local farmer , he gave us a bowl of broth and some bread at lunch time , but at the end of the day he said " Ok boys , fill your pockets , that's your pay ", we were standing in a pair of jeans and t shirts . We came back later that night with bags.


God that struck up a memory from my days on holidays at my uncles farm in Garvagh. I used his seed fiddle in a small garden/field, pitchfork at the other end was your target as you fiddled and sowed in a straight line. As you sowed a line, the forks were moved up the field as your next reference point. Happy days indeed.

For the city folk.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Gretchibald said:


> Found a 'seed fiddle' in one or out sheds, donated to local museum. When we were boys one day we picked spuds for a local farmer , he gave us a bowl of broth and some bread at lunch time , but at the end of the day he said " Ok boys , fill your pockets , that's your pay ", we were standing in a pair of jeans and t shirts . We came back later that night with bags.


I actually used a seed fiddle as a youth, sent it to auction 20/30 years ago the bag had rotted. Wish i'd kept it now.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

JanHank said:


> I have seen it on TV but never in reality until today and it is a beautiful day.


Where did you see that Jan? I was under the impression that tractors without roll bars were illegal thought out the EU unless solely operated by the owner. Ie no employees anywhere near.

Still lovely thing to see and hear, brought back memories.

Dick


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Right lads, I now need 4 volunteers to come over and set some grass just like that in the patches that have no grass once these weeds I killed are gone.:laugh:


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Gretchibald said:


> Found a 'seed fiddle' in one or out sheds, donated to local museum. When we were boys one day we picked spuds for a local farmer , he gave us a bowl of broth and some bread at lunch time , but at the end of the day he said " Ok boys , fill your pockets , that's your pay ", we were standing in a pair of jeans and t shirts . We came back later that night with bags.


When we were around 13 or so a friend and I stayed in a tent in a field at Ballynure to pick spuds. Young and foolish as we were we hadn't discussed payment and just left it to his generosity. Imagine! Worked for him practically dawn till dusk Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He wouldn't work Sundays but wanted us back on Monday.

He gave us 50p each so we packed up and left. I still remember the mean bugger's name.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

When my daughter was young I used to work weekends when Chris was home (ha!). One of the jobs us mums did was ride on a potaoto harvester to sort the potatoes as they were lifted. It was absolutely freezing. We used to wear two pairs of trousers, two pairs of socks and stand in a plastic potato sack lined with straw! Horrible job but needs must.

Chris, having found out how hard caring for a toddler can be, used to go and do little plumbing jobs so that the householder would keep an eye on daughter! One farmer invited them to a midday Sunday lunch which they duly ate, only to be told, when I got back, that my mum had invited us to a late Sunday lunch. Needless to say they ate both


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

JanHank said:


> Right lads, I now need 4 volunteers to come over and set some grass just like that in the patches that have no grass once these weeds I killed are gone.:laugh:


Scratch the ground with a rake to remove some of the dead weed, scatter a tiny bit of seed and put a very thin layer of sand on top. You could water it but it will germinate when conditions are right. Now is the time to do it before summer comes. It should be warm enough now, the ground should still be a bit moist and at this time of year there's the prospect of rain.

You could simply scatter seed and some would germinate though it'll do better covered. Equally you could do nothing and wait for the surrounding finer grass to colonise the spots. I might go for that last option. It would mean that if the rough grass or weeds were to recover from the spray you could spray again and not damage your repair. The surrounding grass will eventually colonise the dead patches.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

We used one of these for our initial lawn...… Ray.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Very hard to close the aperture on one of those far enough to put seed on at 35g/M2. All to easy to put it on far too thick and waste large quantities of seed. I can remember buying grass seed at £80 a ton. Now 20kg can cost that, or if buying retail on Amazon etc. £10 or more a kilo.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

raynipper said:


> We used one of these for our initial lawn...… Ray.


I have one of those and one that goes on the back of the mower but I think they are for fertiliser, not sure if the holes can be closed, will look later.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Unless you've killed all your grass you don't need to sow the whole area, with a machine or otherwise. In any case how would you calibrate it, assuming that you can close it down far enough.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Sorry Alan, I don´t mean I am going to use either, I intend waiting in hope that when I do fertilise with graduals or liquid the good grass will spread its roots.
There seems to be no sign of rain yet, so that task has to wait first for me to locate fertiliser then for rain.


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