Cara potatoes & runner beans

[PJW_Letchworth]

When should I be planting out my cara potatoes?  They are chitting very well at the moment with shoots about 1/2 to 3/4" long.  I was thinking in a couple of weekends time, ie mid-April.  Is this too early?

Also, I have runner bean plants which are 6" tall in my greenhouse.  I am going to start putting them outside to harden them off over the next week or so.  When can I plant them in the allotment?

Apologies for all the questions but I'm still a bit of a newbie.

Thanks!

[PJW_Letchworth]

[Curryandchips]

I will be planting my Cara mid April. Can't comment on the runner beans.

Derek :)

[Barnowl]

Everything I've read about runners seems to agree on one thing : if your runner bean plants get hit by frost you might just as well start them again. They can't handle it.

[debjay]

 :) hi
Runner beans usually go out in may. But with the weather as it is
I am tempted to get mine started  ::) I will get them going in the greenhouse
(unheated) then harden off. Hopefully wont have to go to the lottie to put fleece on them  ;D

[tim]

Cara - with sprouts that long, I would get them in.

But see http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,72/topic,28323.20

Beans - mine go out end May & I stretch fleece the length of the row against frost.

[Tee Gee]

Agree with mid April for Potatoes!

I sow my runner beans first week in May to plant out first week in June

note: I speak from experience I once planted out 31st May and lost the lot!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

This is about the right time for spuds, but it's early for tender stuff like beans. I haven't even planted mine yet as I had to keep them under cover so long last year that they ended up in a tangled mass. Nothing tender is going into my mini greenhouses for at least a couple of weeks yet, maybe longer. It'll be another six weeks before anything gets planted out.

[sawfish]

You can have your potatos in now if you want, the frosts should be well over by the time they poke out the ground.

Contrary to what it says above my runners got frostbite last year and they did recover but in saying that it did set them back a week or two.

[tim]

Fleece??