The Great Spud Challenge 2010

[Trevor_D]

No chance this weekend either!

We went to Wisley for the day: drove round the M25 in wall-to-wall drizzle; went into the Plant Centre but got evacuated after ten minutes because the fire alarm went off; eventually went back and got some plug plants & seed potatoes; still p**ing down with rain so we came home again. Rain all afternoon. Tomorrow's forecast includes torrential rain, gale-force northerly winds, sleet, snow & localised flooding!!!!

But next week's looking a bit better....?

And only once have I failed to eat my own new potatoes on my birthday. (Says he with reckless confidence....) And that's the year I was in Australia - my daughter-in-law, who was house-sitting, ate them for me!

[Jeannine]

Blooming heck, I have just had to replant as the blasted squirrells have nicked my spuds!!  I have planted 3 different tubs this time and they have lids on .

 I am jinxed I think!!

XX Jeannine

[Mortality]

Put mine in the mini plastic greenhouse (helps add weight) looks like its going to be very windy today.

[cornykev]

The ground didn't look dry enough yesterday and its chucking it down now, so I  have a couple in pots at the lottie on the go, people will have to plant when they can, in fact last year some of the peeps who planted later got thereselves a quicker crop.
Sorry Jeannine but the squirrel raid did make be laugh, they must have thought, we must have a few more daft Brits moved in.     

[Dadnlad]

We grabbed our chance in a bit of sun yesterday

Made a rough square box of four old sheets of twinwall, manured and BFB'd, planted half dozen Swift, strawed and fleeced just before it p####d down again

[Digeroo]

blasted squirrells have nicked my spuds

 

They are not interested here in potatoes, they're much too fixed on broad beans.

[tonybloke]

Yay!! finally got some 'rocket' and 'maris bard' in my cold-frame. (ex- sash windows construction)

[plot51A]

3xRocket and 3x Sharpes Express in planters on my patio. Fleece and bubblewrap at the ready for the cold nights we're forecast. 

[Jeannine]

Oh eck, they got the flaming lids open, so now on the third planting and no more expensive baby spuds left... I have them in the bedroom as it is  coolest place inside .............. and I am not kidding!!!

XX Jeannine

[InfraDig]

8 International Kidney in one of the beds under a sheet of secondary double glazing today.

[Mrs Gumboot]

Lovely warm day, but it snowed again last night! What is up with this weather - doesn't it realise we're trying to get stuff done 

Was going to try & get mine in this weekend, but there's more bad weather forecast so might have to wait. Boo!

[Barkie]

Blooming heck, I have just had to replant as the blasted squirrells have nicked my spuds!!  I have planted 3 different tubs this time and they have lids on .

 I am jinxed I think!!

XX Jeannine

EEK I'd put squirrell roast on the menu for that. Well at least they won't go green from seeing sunlight!

[Jeannine]

mmmm, you know I do have a Canadian cook book which hs recipes for squirrells, LOL

XX Jeannine

[Robert_Brenchley]

Are they greys? If so, they'll go into holes quite happily. I've known them to live down drains like rats. I suspect rat poison in a piece of pipe might get them, but I've never had enough squirrels to try it out.

[angle shades]

mine are in / shades x

[Jeannine]

Stop showing off Shades, mine hav been in three times already!!

They are   mostly jet black squirrels rarely see a grey, but I couldn't hurt them...the sods!!

My bedroom is quite small and it is no fun getting up to "go" in the night just to trip over 3 large tubs, and they smell of manure!!!


We put them on the patio today , and watched,the squirrels were there in ten minutes so we had to bring them back in

Oh well, tomorrow is another day

XX Jeannine

[calendula]

planted 2 more in another big tub in the greenhouse - annabelle, supposed to be very early - so as I started planting on the 25th Feb and did a second planting today I have a weeks difference to compare during the trial - we are soon getting to 'normal' planting times so presumably we are getting close to cut off time for the trial/challenge?

[Wilder]

I had no idea about this challenge but I put in my first earlies (Colleen, I'm Irish  )yesterday in two bags against a warm, sheltered wall on the patio. Have wrapped the base of the bags in plastic. so lets see. Beautiful weather here on the south coast (except for the wind) over last few days so I managed to do quite a bit of work each lunchtime on the new patch for beans, peas and squash.

[realfood]

No point  in planting potatoes outside here, or even in a greenhouse with min temperatures of -8C in the greenhouse. I have cheated by planting some Swift tubers in peat in the house to take to the greenhouse if it gets milder.
In previous years, I would have planted my early potatoes outside about now!!

[Digeroo]

The only way I have found of keeping squirrels off broad beans is to put a clear plastic cola bottle with the bottom cut off over the top and then put two short canes through the top at angles and then twist the bottle well down into the soil.   Presume you could do this for a potato. 

The little critters move everything else but to date have not worked out how to shft the bottles. 

I have my potatoes under 5 ltt bottles but they are not very easy to come by.