is it to early

[ginger james]

planted one row of tats yesterday 2.5 kilo of fist earlies might have made a mistake but i am prepared to lose them thought the way the weather has been worth the risk

[ginger james]

[flitwickone]

always12 a gamble good luck with em    ;D

[Ellen K]

You will need to make a cloche over them to stand a chance.

But it's hard to hold back, I can't wait to get out there and plant stuff.

Took a risk with some cheap Jermor shallots I got off the market yesterday.  But that's quite tame in comparison.

[rugbypost]

Brave man will hold on a bit longer about middle of march

[daitheplant]

Frost forecast tonight so best of luck. ;D

[PAULW]

If it had not been so wet I would have had some spuds planted, more to get out the way instead of rushing around like a lunatic trying to get everything in the ground about easter time, the spuds wont start to grow until the ground is warm enough and they wont come to any harm( the volunteers make it through the winter with no harm).

[Ellen K]

You are on the Dorset coast so I can see what you are saying.

Easter is quite late this year (23rd April) so I won't be waiting until then. not this year.

[Digeroo]

I will be joining the spud challenge again.  With cloche and fleece etc the potatoes I planted in February last year to my great surprise did very well indeed and I was eating them in June. I think you will need to keep a good eye on the weather forecast and keep them well protected from frosts.   Even with 4 or 5 degrees forecast we occassionally have an unexpected dip in temperatures so it is not always easy to predict.

[grannyjanny]

What sort did you plant Digeroo. A chap on our site plants Swift on about March 25th & he starts using them by 21st May. He doesn't use fleece or anything.

[antipodes]

gingerjames, you might be all right, last year I planted some in the last ten days of February and I had lovely first spuds in June, although maybe it's a tad warmer here. I would recommend earthing up as soon as you spot leaves coming up, and maybe mulch with some straw, stable waste etc to insulate the ground in case of frosts. But I find that they are really pretty hardy, the old spuds.

[Ellen K]

Last year, I planted Lady Cristl sequentially through March.  Wasn't vigilant enough with frost protection, you can earth up but it is only a few days then the leaves have poked through again.  The earliest plantings took a hit from the frost but came back and looked like healthy halms.  But the yield from those plants was low, in fact one plant produced just one potato.

You'll always get something but planting spuds then digging them up can be quite hard work and it uses a lot of space, water and manure so you want to do as well as you can.

Having said all that i will be doing it all again with the spud challenge, I guess a lot of gardening is the triumph of hope over experience  ;D

[PAULW]

Forgot to say I always ridge up after planting not as the shoots start to show, this is how the farmer do it and you dont have to worry about frost for about 6 or 7 weeks at least before the shoot start to push through the soil.

[ginger james]

I ridged up well the variety i stuck in was Aaron pilot

[cornykev]

It might be a bit too early Ging but good luck, we are planting for the challenge this weekend but only a few spuds for a bit of fun, you will have to keep them fleeced. I will not be putting the rest of my Rockets in until March.    :-\ :-\ :-\

[Digeroo]

What sort did you plant Digeroo.

My really early sowing last year was volumia which I was assured was really early, but it was not very special at all.  I rather cheated because it was along a south facing wall which obviously acts like a night storage heater.  This year I have rocket.

[RSJK]

I planted a row on Feb 13th. In 2008 covered them with fleece and was digging spurs in the third week of May . Have not been able to get them in that early the last two years due to the winters getting back to what they should be like ......nice and cold and frosty