I'm desperate to plant out my first few seeds, onion sets and spuds, but I'm scared. :-[
I didn't start my veg garden until April last year(my first time) so missed all the frosts, and although my spuds, lettuce, parsnips and onions all say they can go out in March, I'm scared there is going to be a frost and kill it all off. Should I wait another few weeks?
I'm just being impatient really! ;D Should I just sow some flower seeds indoors to pass the time, or brave it and get my spuds out? They've been chitting for weeks!
Here are my Catriona spuds, raring to go:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Laney2005/IM000105.jpg)
Ignore that timestamp. It's not that date, or even that time...LOL! :D
Hmmm, all depends how exposed your site is. If it helps, I'm in West London and last year planted my spuds out the last week in March and they were fine. Have a look on Metcheck and see what the forecast is - I mean it can't be wet mild and frosty all at the same time can it ??
Why not just go for it and have the fleece on standby?
Onions - a bit too wet, but again depends on your soil and parsnips will probably sulk then rot.
Like you I am impatient (Aries) ;) so this weekend I did a mass flower sowing and now have no space on the kitchen window sill......but the french marigolds are already sprouting.
Happy growing
You can come round and help me then, mine needs clearing. ;D
I bet we don't get any more frosts this year, global warming etc.
I've got some watermelons that are germinating and need potting up.
I germinate them first between sheets of kitchen roll in my propagator.
Plant them unless your soil is really wet. You may get the odd frosr trimming the spuds back, but they'll still have the extra root growth, and grow back quickly.
Most people on our site have not planted anything yet as the site is flat, open and exposed. The only person I have spoken to who has planted anything is the chairman. He said he was gonna take the gamble - & put some of his spuds in 2-3 weeks ago!
Potatoes? Fleece on standby? No - lay it over after planting & forget it?
With the weather as it is at the moment, it's probably the wet rather than the cold that's the problem. I've got broad beans planted (they're hardy enough) plus a short row of LC potatoes, but I'm not chancing anything else until it's a bit drier.
But early peas in guttering ready to plant out; lettuce & beetroot coming on in modules; GH tomatoes, peppers & aubergines being pricked out into 3" pots.
we're supposed to be getting a frost tonight..north west..we're planting our first spuds under fleece tomorrow..we've had the ground warming up for a fortnight so should be ok..our onions are in raised beds so are a bit drier..loads of stuff waiting to be planted ;D
too soggy where we are at the moment to plant, at least that's the excuse I'm using...
My early spuds have been in for two weeks, planted then the rows pulled up it will take them a month before they appear so less chance of catching a frost just in case the fleece will be ready to pull over.
i darn't go out and do anything on the allotment.
at the weekend in a break in the rain i went to the back garden to move something and i sunk about 4 or 5 inches !
So i am staying at home with my car for at least another couple of days!
That said its a wonderful day here blue sky, warm sun and a strong wind so i guess that if it dont rain again this week i might get more of the plot ready.
Regarding planting out potatoes I view them this way;
You can plant them as early as you like but they will probably just sit dormant or even rot if the ground is too wet/cold.
If they do grow then the problem is the tops might get frosted when they emerge, meaning all that you hoped for by planting out early is lost.
If you still go ahead and plant out early don't earth up until they emerge then you can use the earthing up to protect them.
If this is still not enough protection get the fleece at the ready.
I wont plant my earlies out till around 23rd April and I bet I am eating potatoes nearly as quick as someone planting out today.
Patience is the order of the day!!
Well said, that chap!
We're fast draining, but I wouldn't set foot on the soil as it is at the moment.
Well, I've been out today and dug another bed, planted some early potatoes in buckets(I figured I can bring them indoors overnight if we have a frost, or cover them with fleece), and am about to put out my onion sets. I have raised beds, and when I felt them the soil was quite dry. My lawn is really boggy though.
I'm in Essex by the way, very sunny(but windy) here today!
I planted some spuds in buckets three weeks ago and they are about three inches up, I also planted first earlies at the weekend it was wet but workable, the onions will wait a few weeks yet, plenty of winter japanese in so I will wait. ;D ;D ;D
I seem to remember that everyone was caught out last year, because at the end of March we had some nasty weather, even snow. So I think you are right to be cautious depending where you are. It is something I agonise about every year too. Some times you are right and sometimes nature catches you out. We usually plant our potatoes out at Easter every year, and they usually do okay then. busy_lizzie
WERe not planting ours out till the beginning of April. like Teegee said they catch up anyway. Last year we were late with everything cos we only got the plot in July and we were surprised at just how much stuff we were able to grow right into late autumn. I think that sometimes we are inclined to be chanting at the bit after the winter, We could all do with going away for a fortnight in late Feb to stop us sewng too early. (How about meeting up in Benidorm next Feb)
We are promised a groundfrost tonight... I won't be putting any out, got pleuresy and now followed it up by damaging the ligaments on my lumbar vertebrae... yes I've given myself a bad back with coughing... no lifting, bending for at least a month!!! Thankfully OH is getting stir crazy for some digging so they will go out at Easter even if I'm an invalid...
:(
hope you get better quickly, saddad, otherwise your oh is going to get knackered ;D
I won't be planting mine until the end of the month - another Essex girl Laney - because even with my fast draining ground, I have experience of them rotting off before they get a chance to get going.
It's OK Manics, we only got 27 Kilo to put in, She did 32 last year!
;D