Capsicum

Extract from: Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie (1897)

The _Capsicum_, or Bird Pepper, or Guinea Pepper, is a native of tropical countries; but it has been cultivated throughout Great Britain as a stove plant for so many years (since the time of Gerard, 1636) as to have become practically indigenous. Moreover, its fruit-pods are so highly useful, whether as a condiment, or as a medicine, [79] no apology is needed for including it among serviceable Herbal Simples. The Cayenne pepper of our tables is the powdered fruit of Bird Pepper, a variety of the Capsicum plant, and belonging likewise to the order of Solanums; whilst the customary "hot" pickle which we take with our cold meats is prepared from another variety of the Capsicum plant called "Chilies." This plant--the Bird Pepper--exercises an important medicinal action, which has only been recently recognized by doctors. The remarkable success which has attended the use of Cayenne pepper as a substitute for alcohol with hard drinkers, and as a valuable drug in _delirium tremens_, has lately led physicians to regard the Capsicum as a highly useful, stimulating, and restorative medicine. For an intemperate person, who really desires to wean himself from taking spirituous liquors, and yet feels to need a substitute at first, a mixture of tincture of Capsicum with tincture of orange peel and water will answer very effectually, the doses being reduced in strength and frequency from day to day. In _delirium tremens_, if the tincture of Capsicum be given in doses of half-a-dram well diluted with water, it will reduce the tremor and agitation in a few hours, inducing presently a calm prolonged sleep. At the same time the skin will become warm, and will perspire naturally; the pulse will fall in quickness, but whilst regaining fulness and volume; and the kidneys, together with the bowels, will act freely.

Chemically the plant furnishes an essential oil with a crystalline principle, "capsicin," of great power. This oil may be taken remedially in doses of from half to one drop rubbed up with some powdered white sugar, and mixed with a wineglassful of hot water.

The medicinal tincture is made with sixteen grains of [80] the powdered Capsicum to a fluid ounce of spirit of wine; and the dose of this tincture is from five to twenty drops with one or two tablespoonfuls of water. In the smaller doses it serves admirably to relieve pains in the loins when depending on a sluggish inactivity of the kidneys. Unbroken chilblains may be readily cured by rubbing them once a day with a piece of sponge saturated with the tincture of Capsicum until a strong tingling is induced. In the early part of the present century, a medicine of Capsicum with salt was famous for curing severe influenza with putrid sore throat. Two dessert spoonfuls of small red pepper; or three of ordinary cayenne pepper, were beaten together with two of fine salt, into a paste, and with half-a-pint of boiling water added thereto. Then the liquor was strained off when cold, and half-a-pint of very sharp vinegar was mixed with it, a tablespoonful of the united mixture being given to an adult every half, or full hour, diluted with water if too strong. For inflammation of the eyes, with a relaxed state of the membranes covering the eyeballs and lining the lids, the diluted juice of the Capsicum is a sovereign remedy. Again, for toothache from a decayed molar, a small quantity of cayenne pepper introduced into the cavity will often give immediate relief. The tincture or infusion given in small doses has proved useful to determine outwardly the eruption of measles and scarlet fever, when imperfectly developed because of weakness. Also for a scrofulous discharge of matter from the ears, Capsicum tincture, of a weak strength, four drops with a tablespoonful of cold water three times a day, to a child, will prove curative.

A Capsicum ointment, or "Chili paste," scarcely ever fails to relieve chronic rheumatism when rubbed in [81] topically for ten minutes at a time with a gloved hand; and an application afterwards of dry heat will increase the redness and warmth, which persist for some while, and are renewed by walking. This ointment, or paste, is made of the Oleo-resin--Capsicin--half-an-ounce, and Lanolin five ounces, the unguent being melted, and, after adding the Capsicin, letting them be stirred together until cold. The powder or tincture of Capsicum will give energy to a languid digestion, and will correct the flatulency often incidental to a vegetable diet. Again, a gargle containing Capsicum in a proper measure will afford prompt relief in many forms of sore throat, both by its stimulating action, and by virtue of its special affinities (H.); this particularly holds good for a relaxed state of the throat, the uvula, and the tonsils. Cayenne pepper is employed in the adulteration of gin.

The "Peter Piper" of our young memories took pickled pepper by the peck. He must have been a Homoeopathic prover with a vengeance; but has left no useful record of his experiments--the more's the pity--for our guidance when prescribing its diluted forms.

Carrot

Carrots are best grown as a second rotation crop as they dislike newly fertilised ground but do require nitrogen and potassium for good growth. However newly fertilised ground will often cause the roots to fork as will hard or gravelly ground. To obtain unifrom seed germination its a good idea to cover the seed with well matured compost, coir etc this helps retain moisture, some cover the plot with old potatoes sacks until germination .. Carrots require regular watering if left to extended dry periods they become stunted woody and yuck..

PH 6.5 - 7.5 should be sown 2cm apart with 20cm between rows but don't be concerned about spacing just thin as needed..Can also be sown in circles where ever space is available I like the foliage and don't consider carrots just for the veggie patch.

Planting times:

Avoid the extremes of heat; cold, heavy frost and you'll be right. Ideal temp for germination is 10°C to 18°C (ground temp)

September to March - Cool climates (Southern Vic - Tasmania)

Septemeber to May - Mild Climates (WA - SA - Most NSW)

February to Novemeber - Sub tropics and Tropics

Moon Phase 3rd Quarter (full moon)

Germination Time: 8-24 days

Seed Viabilltiy: 3 years

Wikipedia

Extract from Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie (1897)

Our garden Carrot, or Dauke, is a cultivated variety of the_Dalucus sylvestris_, or wild carrot, an umbelliferous plant, which groweth of itself in untoiled places, and is called _philtron_, because it serveth for love matters. This wild Carrot may be found abundantly in our fields and on the sea shore; the term Carrot being Celtic, and signifying "red of colour," or perhaps derived from caro, flesh, because this is a fleshy vegetable. Daucus is from the Greek _daio_, to burn, on account of the pungent and stimulating qualities. It is common also on our roadsides, being popularly known as "Bee's nest," because the stems of its flowering head, or umbel, form a concave semi-circle, or nest, which bees, when belated from the hive will use as a dormitory. The small purple flower which grows in the middle of the umbel has been found beneficial for the cure of epilepsy. The juice of the Carrot contains "carotine" in red crystals; also pectin, albumen, and a particular volatile oil, on which the medicinal properties of the root depend. The seeds are warm and aromatic to the taste, whilst they are slightly diuretic. A tea made from the whole plant, and taken each night and morning, is excellent when the lithic acid, or gouty disposition prevails, with the deposit of a brick-dust sediment in the urine on its becoming cool.

The chief virtues of Carrots lie in the strong antiseptic qualities they possess, which prevent all putrescent [89] changes within the body. In Suffolk they were given long since as a secret specific for preserving and restoring the wind of horses, but cows if fed long on them will make bloody urine. Wild Carrots are superior medicinally to those of the cultivated kind. Carrot sugar got from the inspissated juice of the roots may be used at table, and is good for the coughs of consumptive children. The seeds of the wild Carrot were formerly esteemed as a specific remedy for jaundice; and in Savoy the peasants now give an infusion of the roots for the same purpose; whilst this infusion has served to prevent stone in the bladder throughout several years when the patient had been previously subject to frequent attacks.

Carrots boiled sufficiently, and mashed into a pulp, when applied directly to a putrid, indolent sore, will sweeten and heal it. The Carrot poultice was first used by Sulzer for mitigating the pain, and correcting the stench of foul ulcers. Raw scraped Carrot is an excellent plaster for chapped nipples. At Vichy, where derangements of the liver and of the biliary digestion are particularly treated, Carrots in one or another form are served at every meal, whether in soup, or as a vegetable; and considerable efficacy of cure is attributed to them. In the time of Parkinson (1640) the leaves of the Carrot were thought to be so ornamental that ladies wore them as a head-dress instead of feathers. A good British wine may be brewed from the roots of the Carrot; and very tolerable bread may be prepared for travellers from these roots when dried and powdered. Pectic acid can be extracted by the chemist from Carrots, which will solidify plain sugared water into a wholesome appetising jelly. One part of this pectic acid dissolved in a little hot water, and added to make three hundred parts of warm water, [90] is soon converted into a mass of trembling jelly. The yellow core of the Carrot is the part which is difficult of digestion with some persons, not the outer red layer. Before the French Revolution the sale of Carrots and oranges was prohibited in the Dutch markets, because of the unpopular aristocratic colour of these commodities. In one thousand parts of a Carrot there are ninety-five of sugar, and (according to some chemists) only three of starch. In country districts raw Carrots are sometimes given to children for expelling worms, probably because the vegetable matter passes mechanically through the body unchanged, and scours it. "Remember, William," says Sir Hugh Evans in the _Merry Wives of Windsor_, "Focative is Caret," "and that" replies Mrs. Quickly, "is a good root."

 "The man in the moon drinks claret,

        But he is a dull Jack-a-dandy;

    Would he know a sheep's head from a Carrot

        He should learn to drink cider and brandy."

            Song of Mad Tom in _Midsummer Night's Dream_.

Extract from: Food Remedies (Facts About Foods And Their Medicinal Uses) by Florence Daniel (1908)

Carrots are strongly antiseptic. They are said to be mentally invigorating and nerve restoring. They have the reputation of being very indigestible on account of the fact that they are generally boiled, not steamed. When used medicinally it is best to take the fresh, raw juice. This is easily obtained by grating the carrot finely on a common penny bread grater, and straining and pressing the pulp thus obtained.

• Raw carrot juice, or a raw carrot eaten fasting, will expel worms. The cooked carrot is useless for this purpose.

• A poultice of fresh carrot pulp will heal ulcers.

• Fresh carrot juice is also good for consumptives on account of the large amount of sugar it contains.

• Carrots are very good for gouty subjects and for derangements of the liver.

Carrots In Australia

by Allan McKay, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia
(Updated April 2007)

World Production

World production of carrots was estimated at 24.2 million tonnes from a cropped area of 1.105 million hectares in 2005 (FAOSTAT data, 2006). The world average yield was estimated at 21.9 tonnes/hectare (t/ha).

China is by far the largest carrot producer, accounting for 34.6 per cent of world production in 2005 up from 27.5 per cent in 2000. According to FAO statistics, the Russian Federation and the USA are next largest in carrot production with 7.1% and 6.6 % of world carrot production respectively (Table 1). However India is probably the world's second largest producer of carrots with Indian data suggested production close to 2.8 million tonnes in 1998.

Chinese carrot production has increased 129 % between 1995 and 2005 and this increase makes a large contribution to the 46 % increase in world production during this period.

 

Carrots in Australia

 

Carrots were the fifth most valuable vegetable crop in Australia behind potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions in 2004 (ABS). According to ABS, 302,560 tonnes of carrots were produced from about 7,200 hectares in Australia in 2004 with a farmgate value of $ 150 million.

In Australia, average yield is estimated at near 42 (t/ha) however good commercial operations often market over 60 t/ha and 80 to 90 t/ha yields are achievable.

Australian production increased steadily from 257,000 tonnes in 1999 peaking at 321,000 tonnes in 2000 before declining to 316,025 tonnes in 2006.

Victoria (26 %) and Western Australia (21 %) together produce nearly half of Australia's carrots. Tasmania (17%), New South Wales (14 %) and South Australia (14 %) and are the next biggest producers. The largest carrot producing farms are located on the

Murray River east of Mildura in Victoria, and north of Perth in the west Gingin/Lancelin area of Western Australia.

About 20 % of Australian carrot production was exported fresh in 2004/05 with most of the remainder sold fresh for domestic consumption. Carrots have been the most valuable fresh vegetable export from Australia since 2002. In 2006 Australian carrot exports of 66,000 tonnes were valued at $ 43.5 million. Western Australia produces over 90 % of Australia's carrot exports which are shipped to more than 20 countries.

Small quantities of Australian carrots are processed into juice concentrate and into sliced and diced frozen products. A small proportion of the Australian carrot crop is processed into juice, frozen diced, canned and cut and peel products.

 

History

In Australia prior to the 1920's, carrots were cultivated on small holdings in vegetable growing areas close to cities. Planting, thinning, weeding, harvesting and washing were done by hand. As production expanded, horse-drawn ploughs and scarifiers were introduced for ground preparation. Tractors changed the face of vegetable production in the 1930's and 40's and the introduction of kerosene ("weed oil") as a herbicide for carrots in the 1940's revolutionised carrot production by replacing hand and mechanical weeding and allowing more extensive plantings. Cheaper, more convenient herbicides such as linuron replaced kerosene in the 1970's. The introduction of mechanical harvesters in the early 1960's saw individual growers planting up to 40 ha of carrots a year.

Grower numbers declined dramatically with mechanisation of the industry. Mechanical grading also introduced in the 1960s saw big gains in industry efficiency. During this period, plastic bags replaced hessian bags as packaging for wholesale. Most fresh market carrots are now sold in 20 kg plastic bags, cartons or exchangeable plastic crates.

 

 

Varieties in Australia

Osborne Park Champion (also known as Champion Red Core) was the main carrot variety grown in Australia for many years prior to the 1950s. During the 1950s, a range of varieties were grown, including Red Core Chantenay, Imperator, Top Weight and All Seasons (a selection of Top Weight). A selection of Osborne Park called Western Red established itself as the main variety Australia-wide by the 1970's because of its high yield and quality. Western Red remained the mainstay of the carrot industry until the introduction of hybrid Imperator varieties from America and hybrid Nantes varieties from Europe in the early 1990's.

Most of the carrot varieties grown in Australia belong to one of the following four variety groups distinguished by shape although some new varieties, such as Mojo are the result of combining characteristics from several variety groups via conventional plant breeding. The four major variety groups represented in Australia are:

1. Nantes varieties with blunt-ended straight to slightly tapered roots. Nantes varieties are generally sweet flavoured because of low terpenoid contents. Root length averages 200 mm. Example variety are Stefano and Navarre.

2. Imperator varieties such as Red Hot and Cellobunch which produce pointed roots up to 350 mm long with medium width shoulders and taper. Several varieties grown in Australia such as Condor and Red Brigade are intermediate in shape between Imperator and Autumn King varieties. Still others such as Red Count and Red Sabre are intermediate in shape between Imperator and Nantes. Imperator varieties originated in the United States in the 1920s from crossing Chantenay and Nantes varieties.

3. Autumn King varieties which have wide-shouldered highly tapered pointed roots averaging 300 mm in length. The main representative of this group grown in Australia is Western Red. Majestic Red is a related variety with some Chantenay characteristics.

4. Chantenay varieties such as Royal Chantenay which are wide-shouldered and highly tapered with good internal colour. They produce short roots and are mainly used for processing. More recently the Japanese Kuroda type carrots have been grown, principally in Tasmania for export to Japan. During the late 1990's.

Nantes varieties have become, by far, the most important type of carrot grown in Australia.

General aspects of carrot production in Australia

Carrots are commonly grown in rotation with other vegetable crops such as potatoes, lettuce, cauliflowers, broccoli and onions. They are grown on a wide range of soil types although sandy soils are favoured because of better root quality and ease of harvesting.

The growing period for a carrot crop is largely temperature dependent and ranges from 14 to 24 weeks depending on location and time of year. A bed system is used to grow carrots throughout Australia. Tractors with wheel centre spacings between 1.5 and 2.0 m straddle the beds. Three or four double rows of carrots are usually sown per bed with 50-80 mm between each row of the double row. A single row harvester then lifts one double row in a pass. Optimum plant densities for fresh carrot production range from 50 to 80 plants per square metre depending on yield potential of the crop. Carrot seed is small (averaging 800 seeds per gram) and oblong flat in shape with rough edges.

The best results are achieved by sowing carrot seed with precision air seeders. Because the seed is irregular in shape it is often pelleted or the technique of film coating which covers the seed with a thin polymer coating is used to make the seed easier to plant with a precision seeder. There are 80-100 seeds/g for pelleted seed. Just under 1 kilogram of raw seed or 7 kg of pelleted seed is required to plant a hectare of carrots. For precision sowing, seed needs to have a germination of over 90 per cent if target densities with consistent interplant spacings are to be achieved. Seed is sown shallow at about 5-10 mm and kept moist with irrigation if weather is hot and dry.

Time to emergence is temperature dependent and ranges from about 8 to 24 days under field conditions. At a constant temperature of 20 C carrots take 12 days to reach 80 % emergence. Cereal rye nursery crops are often sown a few days before carrots on sandy soils to prevent wind erosion damage to young carrot seedlings. The cereal rye is then killed with a grass specific herbicide. Weed control is by cultivation and and a range of pre- and post-emergent herbicides including linuron, trifluralin, prometryne and fluazifop-butyl. The soil fumigant metham sodium also effectively controls many weeds where used. Carrots are irrigated mainly using overhead sprinklers, centre-pivot and lateral move irrigators with water drawn from bores, rivers and dams.

Carrots grow best if water contains a total soluble salts concentration of less than 700 mg/L, while germination and establishment can be adversely affected if irrigation water contains more than 1,300 mg/L. Fertiliser requirements of carrots are low relative to many other vegetable crops. However for high yields moderate levels of fertility are required. A 60 t/ha carrot crop removes about 100 kg of nitrogen /ha. Carrots are susceptible to magnesium deficiency on acid soils and boron deficiency on sandy soils. Most crops are harvested by single row carrot harvesters which lift the carrots, cut off the leaves and and deliver the roots to trailers or bulk bins ready for washing. Larger operations use twin or multi-row harvesters. Some small areas of carrots are still harvested by hand. Carrots are washed immediately after harvest in rotary washers then size graded before coolstoring prior to packing. Once packed in plastic bags or lined cartons carrots can be stored for long periods at 1 C. Carrots develop bitter flavours if stored in open containers in mixed storage with ethylene producing fruit due to the production of iso-coumarin in the carrots.

Pests and diseases of carrots in Australia

Compared with most vegetable crops, carrots suffer from few pests in Australia. Occasionally, leaf hoppers (jassids), aphids, Rutherglen bugs, red-legged earth mites and several species of caterpillars cause leaf damage, but these are easily controlled. Weevil larvae occasionally cause damage to roots and cutworms cause damage in some areas.

Compared to pests, there are a number of diseases which affect carrots at various times and locations throughout Australia. Leaf blight caused by the fungus Alternaria dauci (occasionally A. radicina) is a major disease of carrots growing through wet autumn and winter conditions. Blight lesions are dark brown to black and irregular in shape and are more severe on old leaves and petioles. Under favourable conditions, blight can weaken and defoliate leaves reducing harvesting efficiency. Blight fungi can be carried over on trash from previous crops or can be seed-borne. Effective seed treatment involves soaking seed in thiram or iprodione. Leaf spot caused by the fungus Cercospora carotae produces small round lesions with pale centres and is more common in warmer conditions though is not as damaging as leaf blight. Leaf blight and leaf spot can also occur together.

In the field, leaf blight and leaf spot are controlled by regular application of mancozeb or chlorothalonil fungicides from the first signs of disease. Sporadic outbreaks of bacterial leaf spot (Xanthamonas campestris pv carotae) also occur in Australia. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp) attack carrot roots causing galling and root forking and stumping. Damage is most severe on light textured soils. Control is with the crop rotaton, nematicides or the soil fumigants. Rotation with non-host crops to reduce nematode populations and avoiding heavily-infested areas for summer crops when nematodes are most damaging are management strategies which help reduce nematode damage. Root forking or stumping can also be caused by Pythium fungi attacking young taproots. Seed and soil treatment with metalaxyl fungicide reduces forking caused by Pythium. Damping off of seedlings can be caused by Pythium and Rhizoctonia fungi. Cavity spot disease of carrots, which is caused by Pythium sulcatum and P. violae in Australia, is important. This disease is more prevalent the longer the carrot-cropping history of the land. Cavity spot is typically seen as small brown sunken elliptical lesions randomly distributed on the root surface. Moderate infection levels render the carrots unmarketable. The disease develops rapidly in the last 3-4 weeks of crop development and while found year round, can be devastating in late summer and autumn. This disease is difficult to control although growing tolerant varieties such as Stefano, has helped with cavity spot management.

Bacterial soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora is responsible for some crop losses in carrots. It most often develops in storage where affected tissue becomes water-soaked and collapses into a brown discoloured slimy mess. Carrot virus Y disease transmitted by aphids, can cause severe distortion of carrots, though is now relatively uncommon. Other diseases which occasionally cause significant field losses in carrot crops are Sclerotinia (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), Rhizoctonia spp and Fusarium crown rot. Sclerotinia is also an important storage disease particularly if storage conditions are not adequately controlled.

Images Courtesy of: Deptartment of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

Celery

Extract from Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie (1897)

The Parsleys are botanically named _Selinon_, and by some verbal accident, through the middle letter "n" in this word being changed into "r," making it _Seliron_, or, in the Italian, Celeri, our Celery (which is a Parsley) obtained its title. It is a cultivated variety of the common Smallage (_Small ache_) or wild Celery (_Apium graveolens_), which grows abundantly in moist English ditches, or in water. This is an umbelliferous herb, unwholesome as a food, and having a coarse root, with [95] a fetid smell. But, like many others of the same natural order, when transplanted into the garden, and bleached, it becomes aromatic and healthful, making an excellent condimentary vegetable. But more than this, the cultivated Celery may well take rank as a curative Herbal Simple. Dr. Pereira has shown us that it contains sulphur (a known preventive of rheumatism) as freely as do the cruciferous plants, Mustard, and the Cresses. In 1879, Mr. Gibson Ward, then President of the Vegetarian Society, wrote some letters to the Times, which commanded much attention, about Celery as a food and a medicament. "Celery," said he, "when cooked, is a very fine dish, both as a nutriment and as a purifier of the blood; I will not attempt to enumerate all the marvellous cures I have made with Celery, lest medical men should be worrying me _en masse_. Let me fearlessly say that rheumatism is impossible on this diet; and yet English doctors in 1876 allowed rheumatism to kill three thousand six hundred and forty human beings, every death being as unnecessary as is a dirty face."

The seeds of our Sweet Celery are carminative, and act on the kidneys. An admirable tincture is made from these seeds, when
bruised, with spirit of wine; of which a teaspoonful may be taken three times a day, with a spoonful or two of water. The root of the
Wild Celery, Smallage, or Marsh Parsley, was reckoned, by the ancients, one of the five great aperient roots, and was employed in
their diet drinks. The Great Parsley is the Large Age, or Large Ache; as a strange inconsistency the Romans adorned the heads of
their guests, and the tombs of their dead with crowns of the Smallage. Our cultivated Celery is a capital instance of fact that
most of the poisonous plants call, by [96] human ingenuity, be so altered in character as to become eminently serviceable for food or medicine. Thus, the Wild Celery, which is certainly poisonous when growing exposed to daylight, becomes most palatable, and
even beneficial, by having its edible leaf stalks earthed up and bleached during their time of cultivation.

Dr. Pereira says the digestibility of Celery is increased by its maceration in vinegar. As taken at table, Celery possesses certain
qualities which tend to soothe nervous irritability, and to relieve sick headaches. "This herb Celery [Sellery] is for its high and
grateful taste," says John Evelyn, in his _Acetaria_, "ever placed in the middle of the grand sallet at our great men's tables, and our
Praetor's feasts, as the grace of the whole board." It contains some sugar and a volatile odorous principle, which in the wild plant
smells and tastes strongly and disagreeably. The characteristic odour and flavour of the cultivated plant are due to this essential
oil, which has now become of modified strength and qualities; also when freshly cut it affords albumen, starch, mucilage, and mineral matter. Why Celery accompanies cheese at the end of dinner it is not easy to see. This is as much a puzzle as why sucking pig and prune sauce should be taken in combination,--of which delicacies James Bloomfield Rush, the Norwich murderer, desired that plenty should be served for his supper the night before he was hanged, on April 20th, 1849.

Companion Planting Vegetables

Companion planting is the practice of growing certain types of plants together which provide a beneficial relationship with each other. This could be either enhancing growth or flavour of each other or deterring pests. Some plants can also hinder the growth of nearby plants so it is best to avoid planting these together.

I originally put this list together and printed it out as a guide for myself as whenever I wanted to find out what I should and shouldn’t grow together, I had to spend ages searching through several different guides as nowhere seemed to have a complete list. This list below is by no means complete either but does cover most of the more common plants in the vegetable garden and can be used as a general guide.

Heirloom, Heritage, Hybrid, Open-pollinated?

One of my pet projects is collecting Australian heritage vegetable varieties. I was delighted to find that there are quite a few more than I had expected. One of the things I've found in this area is confusion over terminology so I thought I'd just clarify a few terms for those interested.
I'll work backwards and get the last term out of the way first. An open-pollinated plant is one which is pollinated naturally, without human intervention. Provided that no unwanted cross-pollination occurs, the plant should breed true. In other words, its offspring should resemble the parent(s), or it least resemble the general type. For example, the tomato College Challenger should produce offspring which exhibit similar characteristics to the parent: an indeterminate, regular leaf plant producing good quantities of medium-sized, tasty, red beefsteaks beginning production mid-season.
If cross-pollination by another variety within the same species, or by another species altogether occurs, the offspring is a hybrid. Strictly speaking, it is an F1 hybrid where F1 means first filial generation. Cross-pollination can occur naturally or by design, so hybrids occur in nature as well as in plant breeding labs.
A hybrid, whether deliberate or not, can become open-pollinated through a process of growing, collecting seed, growing and so on over successive generations, sometimes taking many years. This is called dehybridization. All it requires is space, time and patience. The books 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden (ISBN: 0761114009) and Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties (ISBN: 0316181048) are excellent places to start if you're interested in this area.
A heritage variety, or even plant for that matter, is one that has some significance to a particular region or culture. In this group I would include all older commercial varieties as well as those that could be classed as heirlooms (see below). For example, the lettuce variety Gold Rush is an Australian heritage variety of particular significance to the Ballarat region in Victoria from whence it comes. Similarly, the tomato Paragon is an American heritage variety, being an 1870 commercial release from the Livingston Seed Company, founded in 1850 by Alexander Livingston.
At last we come to heirloom, a much used term. I will define it as a variety that has been passed from generation to generation within a family or community. An example of an heirloom would be the bean Lohrey's Special, grown by the Lohrey family of Tasmania for generations.
Clearly, an heirloom is a heritage variety but not all heritage varieties are heirlooms, at least not by my definition. Are they necessarily open-pollinated? The answer is, surprisingly, no. Most vegetables are propagated from seed. For these, it is hard to imagine there being any hybrid heirloom or heritage varieties. Some vegetables though are propagated vegetatively. That is, they are cloned.
The potato is the classic example of cloning over successive generations. When a new potato variety pops up, it is more often than not the result of sexual reproduction. In other words, a group of potato plants is left to flower and go to seed. These seeds, not seed potatoes but true seeds, are then grown. If one of these plants produces good spuds, a new variety is born. The only way to maintain it is by growing from tuber year after year. As these true seeds were more than likely the result of cross pollination, that first plant would have been a hybrid, and so would all subsequent plants grown from saved tubers.
So there we have it. The terms heirloom and heritage give a plant or plant variety a social, i.e., human context. The terms open-pollinated and hybrid just refer to the origin of the pollen that does the fertilising. Heirloom varieties make up part of the larger group of heritage varieties. They can be open-pollinated or hybrid.

Potatoes

Soil temperature should be upwards of 12 degrees for spuds, but they will lie there waiting for it to warm up. A bit like me in the mornings..........

I plant them deep, cover them with soil then a heavy dose of sheep poo over the surface, not dug in. I do this after it has rained. One of the things with spuds is that even though, they need good drainage, you also have to watch out for water stress. If they dry out at any stage it will retard their growth. Mulching with thick straw helps in many ways to retain the soil at a good moisture level, but will also encourage the spuds to grow nearer the surface so be judicial about how thick you put it.

Different soils will hold moisture for different periods of time and you can only really gauge it by knowing your own climate. Poor growth is more likely to be caused by the soil drying out as much as any other cause. Keeping a potato crop at optimum moisture levels for the growing season requires management and is not a "plant them and leave them" situation. There are crucial stages where you can manage water over and above what falls from the sky.

A few tips from a long time Murphy:

Avoid watering on planting to try to get them started. If the soil is dry before planting, give the ground a good soaking at the base of your planting rows. Plant them then leave them, obviously making sure they don't dry out entirely.

If the crop is watered either just before or just after the shoots emerge, you can cause them to rot or get affected by fungus that is not obvious. until you see the plants wilting.

As the spuds are setting tubers you need to encourage plenty tubers by watering more to cool the ground than to feed the plant. If the soil gets over 20 degrees, the plant actually reabsorbs the setting tubers, so if you get a hot few days water to keep soil temperature down.

As the spuds are bilking up, i.e. growing, much will yield will depend on avoiding stress. Even slight moisture stress at this stage will reduce your yield and this will occur 'in the dark' well before you get any ideas that they may be struggling. ( Severe stress at this stage will cause distorted tubers). One of the things that can occur is cracking. This happens as the tubers dry out and start to form skins, then get more water that brings on an additional growth spurt. You should avoid them drying out followed by heavy watering to avoid this.

In essence, while the tubers are growing and getting big, their final size depends entirely on soil moisture. If the crop is watered until the death of the tops, you will get large tubers but with some varieties risk hollow hearts. So don't overdo the watering at the final stages, unless you are growing a variety like Kennebec or Nicola for baking or chipping. However, don't let them dry out entirely, if you are growing over a hot period, because the hot soil will deplete both the keeping and cooking quality of the spuds. Some varieties, such as Sebago, develop tuber disorders if allowed to finish too dry.

I always water lightly for a few days before harvesting to soften the soil. This lets the kids get lovely and dirty before I send them home whistling