At last I have planted my first potatoes this year. I don’t know why I have left it so late this year as we have been blessed with dry warm weather for a couple of weeks now.

It has taken two attempts to riddle the soil to get rid of yet more large stones and glass, nails and god knows what else. Eventually I was reasonably happy with the soil structure and have planted the first early’s ‘Arran Pilot’.

Each row has had a good sprinkle of fish, blood and bone meal as well as organic potato fertiliser. The number of seed potatoes worked out perfectly, nine in each row, twelve inches apart.