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 (http://www.lottieblogs.co.uk/aw3.aspx)
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.
:)
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.
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!
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
I put mine in very deep in late March so there's no sign yet.
like sawfish planted most of mine deep so no sign as yet
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.
mine have been up for a while now,I earth up as they grow ridge is now bout 12" high.
mine have just started to show this week they were planted deep in early march and put under fleece.
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)
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/ninnyscrops/DSCF0176.jpg)
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.
The ones we planted in the ground niot showing yet......The ones in the 25p ikea blue blue bags are going mad ;D
Aaron pilot are showing from 2-7inches. Kestrel have just started this week. My maincrop has not been in long enough to show yet.
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/ninnyscrops/DSCF0158.jpg)
Supermarket sproutings in black dustbin at home! (I hate waste) : ;)
wow, thats some excellent growth there, looks like your ahead of us but hey they look good and will soon catch up.
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!
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.
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.
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.
No sign of the ones in the plot yet, put in at Easter.
But the Rocket pots are doing great!
(http://backyard.8m.net/garden%20veg/21.04.07/april%2021st_0004.JPG)
(http://backyard.8m.net/garden%20veg/21.04.07/april%2021st_0006.JPG)
(http://backyard.8m.net/garden%20veg/09.04.07/april%209th_0007.JPG)
My spuds are growing in large pots and they have started to grow ready for flowering. Is this far too early and am I supposed to keep throwing compost on them to stop them flowering until later this summer? They have only been planted a month!!
Duke of york planted at Easter are up was quite surprized actually. One international Kidney too.
early premiere
the flowers of the ulster prince are just visible above the staging
the jersey royals are growing away well
it wouldn't let me do the outside ones
kestrel well earthed up
desiree ready for their second go
looking really good there manicscousers, thanks for the pics ;)
My Estima ones on the plot have started to show. I went for the full earth up once planted but they seem fine.
ours are about 4 inches off their ridges, have earthed them up and now they are all snug.
ours are going in this weekend :o :o late start due to my hip injury and not being able to do much since Januray. Just have to pull 'em later ....
pentland javaline are peeping up despite having next to no rain and being neglected we earthed them up
marg
Earlies are showing (about 10cm tall).
We made a ridge over the spuds when planted, and they have made it up through this.
Now tell me.......
Why have all the neighbours spuds come up in straight lines, but ours are zig-zags????? Swear I planted them in a straight line!
Mine have come up all over the place too, so much for organisation!! In fact I didn't know if they were potatoes or weeds to start with... ::)
They are getting quite big now though and have been dutifully covered up with just a bit showing at the top. Hope this is what you're supposed to do!
My Maris Peer have been in containers since early April, have earthed up as far as I can go. Have lovely, luscious green growth ....
Red Duke of York - just up
Salad Blue - just up
Pink Fir - no sign
Fortyfold - no sign
Red King Edward - up
Yukon Gold - just up
Highland Burgundy - no sign
mind you mine are planted really deep with a high ridge.
We have almost finished eating the first greenhouse tub with Charlottes in, next one to start on is Anya. XX Jeannine
is it to late to plant maincrop?
Pink firs always seem to take ages, they are slow chitters as well. T&M recommend late-May as the final planting date for late mains. But lifting time is about 20 weeks from planting, which take to mid-October.
I was late planting mine (Rocket and Maris Peer) but it hasn't bothered them they're just about all up they've just grown faster.
I had some space left over and planted some non seed potatoes from waitrose only because they don't seem to be sold as seed. Red King Edwards like those grown in NZ as opposed to the King Edwards grown in the UK with only red patches obviously pre- plant variety rights.
All up, the Charlottes where planted about mid April and are showing nicely, have earthed them twice, The mains, Sante a couple of weeks later are starting to show now
Some of my rockets are flowering already! :)
Accent have been in for 10 weeks now and doing nicely, Kestrels 5/6 weeks and looking good, King Edwards 3.5 weeks and just come up, PFA not in yet and I have run out of room, some have gone in tubs an buckets. ;D
Mine are now getting really big! I planted Roseval reds and Sirtema, in March and also made a spud bin in a big black tub. Those are doing great.
I also had some mystery spuds, left from the last lot owner! I just dug some of those up accidentally while digging over, the plants were small and growing among the weeds, but there were tiny baby potatoes! I steamed them, they were gorgeous. My first crop, and not even my doing ha ha.
The others are now about 30 cm tall, I didn't earth them up but laid a thick layer of straw, they look so neat and pretty now.
I admit that there were a few strays here and there, and in fact I have left them in and let them grow. There is one among the garlic, another among the lettuce and a third with the onions. I figure I will leave them in and just dig them up when I harvest those things, I don't expect they will do much harm to the lettuce. It is a kind of bonus! So I say thank you to teh garden for giving me a few free veg by leaving them in. I am kinda sentimental that way ;D I also collected all the Johnny Jump Up wild pansy and planted them together in the flower bed, they look great.
Popped to the lottie this morning and it looks like the rain has done a good job (on some things!) out of 50 spuds, 14 have now popped up! The onions are looking really good and we have a nice couple of rows of carrots that are about an inch tall. But the wind has not been favourable for the beans or sweetcorn. And we are still waiting for the onion seed, parsnips, spinach, chard, leeks (I think I may have spotted a single leek, or it could be grass!).
The early pots in the garden are enormous, about 18inches tall!
yes we've got loads of spuds coming through along with the weeds with all this rain we've had but hey didn't we need it, just got to find the time to cover them with more soil.