Allotments 4 All

multiveg,
unfortunately not.
am stuck pretty much in the centre of london and don't know of any 'potato days' around here - mind, i could ask the neighbours where they get their stuff from. probably mail order though :(
anything anyone could recommend in that direction?

sorry to digress
svea

You've just missed one in Dulwich last weekend... There's one in Wantage next Tuesday apparently.
You might be on the late side for mail-order as they can sell out early. Some garden centres will stock small packets of seed spuds - just trying to think of where the garden centres are in London. Might be a long shot, but maybe Kew sells them.

For location of Potato Days see www.hhdra.org.uk/potato.htm#days

The next ones are Coventry and Hampshire (easy access from Whitchurch Railway station) this weekend

There will be a very good selection at Heathrow Garden Centre (same as at Hants P Day), West Drayton 020 8897 8893

If you can't get to any of those, see www.plant-seed-mailorder.org.uk and select potatoes for mail order.

Phil

If You plant any seeds out into ground this month You will be very lucky if they germinate at all.
My spade was bouncing off soil on Sunday.The ground was frosted a good two inch deep.
Our supplier of seed  potatoes wont even ship them till this cold snap is over .
Mid to late Feb is soon enough to be setting onion sets and shallots too .
I think we all look at bare lotty and want to see some stuff growing so we become impatient to set seeds etc .
I think, if You havent set before mid November as in over wintering jap onions ,broad beans,spring cabbage,peas and garlic etc  Then leave setting anything  outside into ground till at leastl Mid Feb...
Otherwise as with broad beans etc  set them in boxes or pots in cold greenhouses or window sills ready to be transplanted out when soil warms up.
There seems to be quite a few new lotty owners coming on this site now. I would hate anyone to be dissapointed with their first years growing season ..
So lets give them them  advice that will give them a fair chance of getting some fresh veg to harvest..
It may be just me but the threads on here where someone asks for straight forward advice seem to take a twist here and there and then get all confusing and technical .
The old hands who have had lotties for a few years know what works for most of us reliably year after year.This is the advice I think they are after... cheers   Jim.

Anyway - as I've said so often, what's the rush?

Things sown/planted weeks later always catch up (as you see when you try to 'sow in succession') - & are at less risk of failure or damage? = Tim

As I tried to say in earlier message - you shouldn't dogmatically quote a date. "Don't plant before mid-Feb" is just as likely to be wrong as "sow at the end of Jan".

Last year there was, in my part of the world, a very warm fortnight at the beginning of Feb which was ideal for planting early spuds.

All we can say is that in "normal conditions then the dates for sown x is between a and b, if you want a harvest in z.

BUT then apply common sense, don't sow/plant when for instance the ground is frozen or, conversely, when it's scorchingly hot

That would be really helpful

Phil

PS Lettuce spinach and onions germinate at 0 degrees C

A useful PS. = Tim

it was pretty mild at the weekend and though not feb I decided to wack in a few lines of broad beans, onion sets, parsnips and peas ... hopefully not too early, but am chomping at the bit to get stuff up and running

anyone know if i can try beetrooot this time of year?