Allotments 4 All

I haven't got around to doing this yet but wondered if I should get tgem in asap (am I cery late? Am in NE ENGLAND) or should I start chitting now and put in later?

just bung them, they will catch up fine

I think the opinion is that chitting does help early crops but not really main varieties..

Get them in ... It only make them a week or so quicker...

My order has failed to arrive yet, I will not be chitting they'll be going straight in. Don't worry they'll catch up.

Quote from: amphibian on April 05, 2014, 20:54:44
My order has failed to arrive yet, I will not be chitting they'll be going straight in. Don't worry they'll catch up.

You need to bollock your supplier - its far too late to send out now and expect people to get them chitted and planted..

It is supposed to help first earlies but is not needed for the other types. Usually when you buy them from the garden centre at this time of the year they have huge sprouts on them as they get them out on to the shelves in January when they clear out the Xmas sales. It's all marketing really - it's the quiet part of the year for them. They presumably want us to put us to put them in frozen/wet ground in early March and watch them rot or get the tops wiped out by frost later in the year. The usual guide is to plant them 2-3 weeks before the last frost in your area. In my area (Birmingham) the last frost is about early May. See this site for last frost dates http://www.vegetableseeds.net/category_s/153.htm

I have also for various reasons ended up planting them in early May and they have caught up fine.

Quote from: gavinjconway on April 05, 2014, 21:23:41

Quote from: amphibian on April 05, 2014, 20:54:44
My order has failed to arrive yet, I will not be chitting they'll be going straight in. Don't worry they'll catch up.

You need to bollock your supplier - its far too late to send out now and expect people to get them chitted and planted..

I have contacted them twice they haven't even replied. Will phone them tomorrow, needless to say I am not happy.

Who were they? So we can avoid them!

Quote from: George the Pigman on April 08, 2014, 20:48:09
Who were they? So we can avoid them!

Next time use JB Seed potatoes have never let me down!

What was the delivery date set for? If they have faultered then cancel the order and get your card company to reverse the payment.

Cut your losses and get from your local garden centre and get them planted asap.

T&M were the sinners they promised March delivery - ignored all my emails and then the potatoes turned up at which point they suddenly responded to my emails to helpfully inform me that they had been delivered to me. Pah!

Buggers are all in the ground now - without chitting.

My allotment society had problems with T&M as well. Apparently the order was despatched at the end of January but wasn't delivered or returned to T&M (perhaps it ended up in a boot sale?!). After much querying and chasing up, it arrived on Friday. The plus side is that everything looked good quality.

T&M look to have used a whole range of couriers to deliver this year without having the internet tracking/email notification systems in place to make it work. I expect they will be better next season.