i'm in need to plant out my maincrop potatoes but with the constant rain we've been having over the last 3 weeks, isn't there a chance that the potatoes will be more susceptible to blight? or do you think it's best to plant now, and hope for the best? i just don't know whether to hold out and have a later crop or to wait?
I need to plant my maincrop of potatoes too, will be interested in any replies. I live in West Yorkshire, near Leeds ???
Disclaimer: I know nothing.
I will get my main crops in as soon as there is a break in the weather and I have a slot to go over there.
This isn't really blight weather - still too cold.
And blight gets established in the foliage and moves down to the ground. So while your seeds are still growing underground they are OK.
I dont theink these weather conditions would make them more susceptible to blight - I'm guessing they'd grow too fast to rot in the ground.
So bung em in I say :)
Edited to add - mind you, it's difficult to dig when it's all mud.
Bung em in!
Blight is mainly airbourne and it's too early and too cold for blight...
Mind you there isn't any real rush - plenty of the old hands plant maincrops out on May - they reckon they store better when thay are picked later..
QuoteI live in West Yorkshire, near Leeds
Not to panic I live along the road from you in Huddersfield and I don't usually plant out until the first week in May! next week if you like.
I find by planting out at this date that when the tops emerge late frosts are past, and I don't have to mess around earthing up flleecing etc.
I plant all three types out at the same time i.e. earlies,2nd earlies and maincrop at the same time.
Then when I start picking in July I carry on eating my own potatoes till around now, in fact I still have a week or twos supply of taters to keeping me going for another week or two yet.
So don't panic, all good things still come to those who wait!
No chance of blight being a factor ATM, way too cold, I can't see a spud that has survived the winter rotting now either...
Main problem might be the state of the soil in terms of physical effort required... I got my spuds in at the weekend and if I hadn't had a rotavator (and a big one at taht) to do the ridging there's no way I could have done it by hadn.... That said I've put in three poles of potatoes, about 200 tubers, so if you're only talking about half a dozen then YMMV....
I'm still eating last years crop from storage, and hopefully there won't be much of a gap from last years through this years first earliers from the greenhouse...
Thank you for all the replies..... Just got home from the plot have put in a couple of rows today. Will put in the rest when it stops raining :)
Tee Gee just wanted to say thank you for the recomendation of maximus brussel sprouts, I had a really great crop. ;D
just done mine today too of 10 x Picasso and 10 x Argos (courtesy of Pumpkinlover's help in buying them for me - thank youuuu ;D)
Got the last of my main crop in couple of weeks ago but guess that's because I'm in the south so less frost prone.
Still eating last year's Cara and Desiree, very wrinkled and sprouty but still taste fine and not rotten at all (used to find with bought potatoes at this time of year they looked good but were often full of black inside, think they're sprayed to stop sprouting and last forever on the shelves).
I might see if there are any swift or rocket left at GC at the weekend cos after the epic planting session at the weekend I've got about 14 feet of row left (of the 320 odd feet of row) or maybe some Pentland Javelin.... they made lovely (if rather small) bakers last year...
My potatoes have gone in today, both earlies and maincrop. We have just finished the stored ones from last year and they have kept really well but they were only fit for roasting as boiling them made them into mush. Chips were not very good as the fat seemed to penetrate the surface 1 cm. I have asked this question before, Why were all 6 varieties affected apart from Lady Chrystl? I may have been a bit heavy handed with the Growmore last year so I have not used anything this year. I have kept a gardening diary for the last 12 years and the latest I have planted is May 4th, as I live in the north of England we are at least a month behind you southerners. Any one else had the mushy spud problem and does anyone know the answer.
Good to hear that it is not too late for the spuds.
I have already sown my Lady Christl and Charlotte.
I have Desiree still waiting, as it has been too wet (and too cold). They will go in this week-end.
Two questions: I have embarrassingly forgotten which lot is Lady Christl and which is Charlotte at the time I took them out to chit. I could find out when they start flowering. I just thought the Charlottes would have purple chits.
Secondly: my manure has not rotted down as much as I thought. There are still straws, while it seems that the strong stuff has leached into the plot. I turned over the area reserved for my Desiree last week so with this bounty of rain at the moment, it should leach some more. The plot was painstakingly double dug in December (my first time ever), and about 15 inches of horse manure was layered on the ground. This was a clay area (I hit clay at only about 10-12 inches deep), and had pumpkins on it last year. Now I have heard potatoes will grow anywhere. What are my chances?
In answer to Queenbee, all my varieties except Pink Fir Apple boiled mushy last year - I'm sure there was some discussion on here at the time, I think dry growing conditions were implicated. No problem with that this year - I've already had more rain this month than in the whole of summer last year! Now if I were a pessimist, I'd begin to moan about slugs.....