Potatoes for Christmas and autumn raspberries
by Sarah Flint

Growing potatoes for Christmas

New potatoes with the Christmas roast are a treat but are expensive – never mind the food miles they’ve taken to get to your plate. How about growing your own instead? Plant them in September and they’ll be ready to dig up in December.
Special tubers that have been stored at low temperatures are available from seed catalogues in late summer. Although they don’t have any shoots, as the conditions will still be warm they can be planted straight away – there’s no need to ‘chit’ (sprout) them.
 
Varieties: They are second-crop new potatoes stored at low temperatures.
‘Carlingford’ – white fleshed and waxy
‘Vivaldi’ – small yellow-fleshed potatoes
‘Nicola’ – long, oval shape with light yellow flesh
 
Make sure the containers you use aren’t too difficult to move, as they’ll need the shelter of a frost-free place (greenhouse or conservatory) as the winter progresses (or be prepared to wrap in fleece when frost is forecast). Use a container 30cm (12in) deep and wide, add a layer of ‘crock’ to make the drainage really good and then put into it 10cm (4in) of loam-based soil mixed with either compost or peat (two-thirds to one-third). Put in three tubers, well spaced apart, and cover with 15cm (6in) more of soil. Make sure there’s good drainage under the pots – raise them up on ‘feet’ if possible. As the plants grow, add more soil around them to earth them up. Feed regularly with a liquid general fertiliser and check regularly for slugs (who are partial to the leaves). If they’re ready to eat before Christmas just cut off the haulms (stems and leaves) and dig them up when needed.

Potato, tomato and egg bake (Serves 4)

A hearty, quick supper dish.

• 1kg (2lb) potatoes, boiled and sliced
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 4tbs olive oil
• 225g (8oz) tomatoes, skinned and chopped (or a 400g (14oz) can drained of juice)
• 150g (5oz) chorizo, peeled and sliced
• 150g (5oz) ham, cut into strips
• 8 eggs

Fry the onions until soft in the oil and then add the tomatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes and then liquidise to make a puree. Stir in the potatoes, chorizo, ham and salt and pepper to taste and put into a large and fairly shallow ovenproof dish. Break the eggs on top and put into a hot oven 450ºF/230ºC. After eight minutes, check to see if the eggs are cooked – the yolks should still be runny. Serve with crusty bread.

Growing autumn raspberries

I like raspberries so much I grow both summer and autumn varieties – which means I can pick them from July to October (and even November in a mild autumn). And they’re so worth the space they take up – of all fruit only strawberries have a higher yield. They also freeze well, keeping all of their deliciousness, so I can be eating them at Christmas as well! Three rows of canes will provide over 9kg (20lbs) of fruit – plenty for both family and freezer.
Autumn raspberries like a slightly acid soil. I have a clay soil but I find feeding with a soluble chelated iron tonic when they first start growth and then later in the season (as soon as I see a yellowing of the leaves) keeps them happy. They can cope with a bit of shade but they don’t like to dry out. Putting lots of organic matter in the soil helps. When I prepared their permanent bed a couple of years ago I made sure I put in load of manure in the trench and I always give them a thick mulch over the growing season as well.
I made my rows run north to south (1.5m/5ft apart), so one row doesn’t cast shade over the other, and also put in a support system before planting – autumn raspberries don’t need it as much as summer ones, but it makes them easier to pick. I use a single-frame system – 2.1m (7ft) posts in the ground at 30–38cm (12–15in) intervals, between which I stretch three tiers of galvanised wire at 60cm, 90cm and 1.5m (2ft, 3ft and 5ft).
It’s usual to buy raspberry canes bare-root in a bundle and plant them in winter (November is best). Spread out the roots and plant them at 18in intervals. I grow ‘Autumn Bliss’, which is vigorous and not fussy. If you want to extend your colour range, there’s ‘All Gold’, which has golden-yellow tasty fruit.
Autumn raspberries are easier to manage than summer raspberries. The pruning is more straightforward – they fruit on the current season’s canes, while summer raspberries fruit on the canes produced the year before. So, rather than cutting out old canes and tying in new, all I have to do is to cut down the canes to the ground every February. Also, birds seem to be less greedy in autumn and less interested in the crop – so I’ve never needed to net the rows. Raspberry beetles, whose grubs eat the fruit, aren’t around in numbers either.
Keep your plants watered and weed-free, and tie them into the support as they grow. You’ll get first crop the first year. After harvesting there isn’t much to do except for cutting down the canes in February and applying a general fertiliser and mulch in March.
 
Diseases: Viruses cause the leaves to become mottled and blotched and the canes to be stunted. Remove the affected canes and burn them, but make sure first it’s not raspberry leaf mite or bud mite, whose symptoms are similar. Buy one-year-old canes, certified disease free, from a reputable nursery. 

Eating raspberries

It’s essential that raspberries are picked and eaten fresh (not a problem for me as many of them find their way into my stomach before they get to the kitchen). They bruise easily so only wash them if it’s really necessary. Hull the fruit.

Cream is a classic accompaniment with raspberries but crème frâiche is as good. Sprinkle 4tbs of sherry over 500g (1lb) of raspberries, spoon over 150ml (5fl oz) of crème fraîche and then sprinkle with 2tbs of demerara sugar. Alternatively, mix equal parts of natural yoghurt and whipped double cream together and spoon over the fruit.
A frozen puree is very versatile – it can be used for mousses, sorbets, ice cream or a pouring sauce. Make it by blending 500g (1lb) of fruit with 170g (6oz) caster sugar and then push the mush through a sieve using the back of a wooden spoon to get rid of the pips. Freeze in small containers and use 275ml (half pint) of frozen puree in place of 250g (1lb) of fresh fruit in recipes.

Cream Crowdie (Serves 6)

• A simple recipe from Scotland, where autumn raspberries grow wild.
• 50g (2oz) coarse oatmeal
• 275ml (half pint) double cream
• 50g (2oz) castor sugar
• 1tbs rum
• 250g (half lb) raspberries

Toast the oatmeal in a dry frying pan until it’s golden. Put onto a plate to cool. Whisk together the cream, rum and sugar until the mixture forms soft peaks. Fold in the oatmeal and raspberries. Spoon into individual pots or glasses and chill. Serve the same day or the oatmeal will go soggy.