Jeremy Corbyn has pushed back strongly against a public rebuke of his gardening credentials after a reader accused him of advising people to “leave spuds in the ground till February”. In a letter published in the Independent, Corbyn described that characterisation as “scandalous and deeply hurtful”, and insisted he had meant “digging ground for potatoes in February” — that is, preparing and manuring soil for spring planting, not leaving tubers in situ until late winter. The defence of his words has been amplified on the Guardian letters page by fellow allotmenteers and former colleagues.

Corbyn’s clarification is simple and practical: prepare the plot in late winter, then plant seed potatoes in spring. According to letters republished in the Guardian, fellow allotmenteer and former MP Stephen Pound backed Corbyn’s account, saying he too would be “digging the ground in February” but planting on Good Friday and lifting maincrop potatoes only after they had been eaten or stored. Other correspondents accused the original critic of misreading the quote and of attempting to score political points by misrepresenting a routine horticultural timetable.

Horticultural guidance supports the distinction Corbyn drew between soil preparation and planting. The Royal Horticultural Society advises that fertile soil should be prepared with plenty of organic matter either the previous autumn or in late winter, and that seed potatoes are typically chitted from late January to early March in milder areas to encourage early shoots. The RHS sets out planting windows — late March for first earlies, early to mid‑April for second earlies, and mid‑April to early May for maincrops — while stressing regional variation and the need to avoid exposing young shoots to late frosts.

Viewed against that guidance, digging or manuring in February to ready a plot for March–April planting is routine practice for many British gardeners and allotment holders. The distinction is important: preparing ground in winter improves soil structure and fertility, whereas planting too early risks frost damage to vulnerable shoots. The practical sequence Corbyn described — prepare in February, plant from March onwards, store or lift maincrops later in the season — aligns with standard advice from established horticultural authorities.

The exchange over potatoes sits inside a wider debate that prompted Corbyn’s original public comments: he had warned that rules allowing councils to use capital receipts and dispose of surplus assets risked endangering allotments. A contemporaneous Guardian report framed his intervention against a backdrop of tightening council finances and increased asset disposals, while government guidance on local‑authority asset disposal emphasises that councils must assess value for money, prepare transparent disposal strategies and consider community impacts when selling land. National Allotment Society representatives told reporters that statutory protections for allotments remain, and that recent disposals met legal thresholds, often following assessments of low usage or suitable alternatives.

Those defending Corbyn in the letters pages brought both horticultural and local‑government experience to bear. Stephen Pound’s intervention carried added weight because, as a recent profile notes, he chairs the Framfield Allotments Association after standing down from Parliament in 2019 and speaks from practical allotment experience. Other correspondents — including Dr Barbara Henderson and Toby Wood — accused the original critic of a half‑read quote and even suggested, half in jest, that an “Allotment Party” might symbolise resistance to the sale of community land.

The political provenance of the exchange is not incidental. Corbyn remains the long‑serving MP for Islington North — a parliamentary profile records his service dating from 1983 and his current status as an independent MP — and his remarks about council asset sales were made in that political context. The row underlines how a small, practical detail about digging and planting can be amplified into a wider argument about community resources, stewardship of green spaces and local decision‑making.

Whatever one thinks of the politics, the horticultural takeaway is unambiguous: preparing soil in late winter is standard practice for a successful potato crop, while planting is best timed for the milder weeks that follow. The broader policy takeaway is also clear — government guidance expects councils to weigh community impact when disposing of land, and allotments remain one of the kinds of local assets that campaigners and some MPs are keen to protect.

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Source: Noah Wire Services