Topic: Hows your spuds

[ruffmeister]

Hi there just noticed that our first early spuds have decided to show their greenery this week so signs are good, how are yours? are they further ahead? behind? let me know whats your are up?

First Spuds

[quizzical1]

I would let you know, but it's absolutely chucking it down here now, so there's no way I'm off to the plot to check.

[asbean]

 :)
Hi this is my first post on this forum!  We put our first earlies in on 24th March, they started coming through 15th April, and are now almost all through.  This is our 5th year of spuds, so we've got used to waiting for them, we were very impatient in the early days, poking the ridges for signs of life etc.

[Sprout]

Mine seem to be doing splendidly, thank you for asking. Kestrel and Nicola all showing signs of vigourous growth. Pentland Dell, planted a few weeks earlier are just begining to poke their leaves out of the soil. Now paranoid about there being a frost and religiously checking every on-line forecast I can find!

[Jeannine]

The ones in the greenhouse in tube are in full flower,lottie one are..raised beds about 4 inches tall, ground ones ,there is a ripple on the soil that's all XX Jeannine

[sawfish]

I put mine in very deep in late March so there's no sign yet.

[Blue Bird]

like sawfish planted most of mine deep so no sign as yet

[LesH]

     Hi All, Rocket planted 15th March, up 6th April, About a  foot high now cover in fleece. Kestral planted 26th March, now about four inches high, again covered in fleece.

[grotbag]

mine have been up for a while now,I earth up as they grow ridge is now bout 12" high.

[tinker]

mine have just started to show this week they were planted deep in early march and put under fleece.

[ninnyscrops]

Here's my little beauties - Lady Chrystal looking every bit the lady!  ;D

Majestics are up and PFA just showing (not in this piccy though)

[milkybardave]

I have 4-6" of growth on my Maris Piper (am going to cover these at the weekend) & about the same on Charlotte (In pots), will also be earthing these up at the weekend.

[baggieboy]

The ones we planted in the ground niot showing yet......The ones in the 25p ikea blue blue bags are going mad ;D

[kt.]

Aaron pilot are showing from 2-7inches. Kestrel have just started this week. My maincrop has not been in long enough to show yet.

[ninnyscrops]

Supermarket sproutings in black dustbin at home! (I hate waste)  : ;)

[ruffmeister]

wow, thats some excellent growth there, looks like your ahead of us but hey they look good and will soon catch up.

[Spanner]

The ones in the lottie are banked to about 12" but my ones in a barrel have gone completely mad. Before I went on holiday for a week the tops were just starting to show. I banked them up another 6" and when I cam back they were 6" above the level of the tub, that was 24" of growth in 6 days!

[Melbourne12]

We had such a poor year for spuds last year that we said we weren't going to bother this time around.  Relented in the end, though, and we've planted 4 builder's bags using manure and compost rather than digging trenches.

The first lot went in on 17th march (Foremost), and they're coming up wonderfully.  We've almost filled half the bag.  The subsequent plantings (Desiree) aren't up yet, but expect to be seeing something any day.

We'll see how this method works.  It will obviously need a lot of watering, and is relatively expensive in terms of compost, but the contents of the bags will be reusable as mulch for our raised beds.

[Trevor_D]

Earlies: Lady Chrystl went in March 2nd & 14th; Home Guard March 25th
2nds: Charlotte & Picasso on March 27th
Main: Desiree, Roseval, Arran Victory & Champion on March 31st

All showing well & have been earthed up. All the earlies were mulched heavily with straw from day 1. No sign of any damage from the cold, despite some rather chilly nights.

I might start "feeling" the very earlies soon to see what's going on underground, but I'm not seriously expecting anything yet. I don't normally get anything until early June.

[antipodes]

I put some in in early March, they were on teh allotment when I got it, so just put them in the ground, and will see what they are - they are doing splendidly, about 15 cm high now.
Put in Roseval (reds) and Sirtema in later March, they are now growing up too, I will weed and mulch all of these with straw in the next week.
My barrel of spuds has gone barmy! Shot up about 30 cm in a few days! I put some straw over the leaves and on the weekend I will take it off, fill with something more substantial and remulch with straw, then the barrel should be right to make a few baby spuds  ;D
I went down last night to unload two enormous bags of straw that I got from the racing track waste pile  :D The plot supervisor didn't see me, so I stuck down another huge bit of cardboard and put the bags of straw on top of it ha ha haI don't care what he says, the bits I have covered have much less weed than the others.