Allotments 4 All

Not as early as I'd have liked, but I'm I'm hoping to get my potatoes planted today  The ground is dug just needs a sprinkle of fertilizer, it is daft but I'm feeling quite excited about getting them in the ground!

How's everyone else doing?

Me Dad said always plant potatoes on Good Friday... didn't manage it this year Saturday 4th  instead,( Charlotte and Picasso ) It was a full moon ! that's good ?

It's good they are in the ground, I'm never sure about the moon bit though. Hopefully someone who knows will be able to say.

http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/phases.html

my rocket are just peeping there heads up earthed them up today  no sign of my sharpees express and i cant remember my other early having a Senior moment on that one lol

Intending to plant them next week. We can get frost in Birmingham as late as early May so I don't usually consider planting them until mid  to late April. I plant them all at the same time - first and second earlies and maincrops. I never bother digging a trench just use a trowel and plant them deep (Alan Titchmarsh's advice!). The earlies have a shorter time to maturity so they grow faster anyway until they reach their natural programmed die back time.
The thing about planting on Good Friday, according to Mr Medwyn, was to do with the fact that in the old days people worked Monday to Saturday and weren't, for religious reasons, allowed to do any heavy physical work on Sunday.  Hence Good Friday was the only day in Spring they could plant them. Good Friday can fall any time between March 22nd and April 25th which is a big range!

I have had some earlies in buckets and tubs at home but I planted my main crop out today.  It seemed like a good day for it, warm with the soil still wet below the surface.  As you say - good to get them in the ground.

My theory is to plant 3 weeks before the final frost date, so that when they push up above ground, they won't get their heads frosted off. As our last frost date is mid May, its a bit early yet. As the ground is cleared ready, I might just plant a row and keep my fingers crossed, or get the cloche  out. Mostly they've chitted fine but a few have grown really long shoots about 1' to 18" long, I was wondering if I broke the long shoots off, would they grow new shoots ? It would be a shame to waste them.

Quote from: terrier on April 19, 2015, 01:42:05
My theory is to plant 3 weeks before the final frost date, so that when they push up above ground, they won't get their heads frosted off. As our last frost date is mid May, its a bit early yet. As the ground is cleared ready, I might just plant a row and keep my fingers crossed, or get the cloche  out. Mostly they've chitted fine but a few have grown really long shoots about 1' to 18" long, I was wondering if I broke the long shoots off, would they grow new shoots ? It would be a shame to waste them.

I can't answer what would happen if you broke them off, as never done it. I think they have put a lot of energy into growing them so not sure if they have enough left? Were they in good light, that usually stops them growing so long.
Just an idea put what if you dug a trench and laid them sideways so shoots well protected- don't know!
George the pigman- I went to planting by trowel but found the crops lower, however weather patterns have changed at the same time so it might have been that.
Anyway back to trenching now  with lots of compost in the bottom!

I planted mine second week in March and tubs at home earlier, I've been earthing the lottie spuds this weekend and the others are 8/10 inches high. If frosts are forcast I'll throw a net on them, but frosts get more unpredictable every year, so hayho.     

Planted mine last weekend (Charlotte and Kestrel).

We can get June frosts in Birmingham. Mine are just beginning to come through. If they get frosted, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it as they'll have developed nice strong root systems, which they wouldn't have done if they hadn't been planted, and will bounce back in no time flat.

I remember an unexpected June frost a few years ago which pretty much destroyed the foliage of my by-then well grown potatoes. It went all dark and mushy and I thought they'd had it, to be honest.

Two weeks later they looked absolutely fine. The dead stuff dried and fell off, but new leaves and stems grew really quickly.

I put mine in on St Patricks day - no sign of them yet.

Mine went in yesterday - 21 tubers of various varieties, plus three Harlequin in a big pot for salad and four of last years Red Robin that chitted so strobly I figured I'd pop them in  the Poundland potato bags I was given. The latter may be a mistake - the bags are very wide and shallow (17" wide by 14" high), and the flaps for accessing your spuds don't hold the soil in very well, but it's done.

I chitted them in the porch this year, covering them at any sign of frost, and they've got much stronger shoots on than when I've done them in the hallway, which is probably too dark. This years shoots are short and dark, dark green... though for some reason the Romano are way behind all the rest despite being a second early.

Adrian

Ruddy fox has been running riot in the furrows!!!!!

I usually plant and hill them up all in one go, they seem to come through fine and keeps them protected from frost.

My maincrop went in yesterday Maris Piper, Picasso and King Edward but very dry and the sooner it pours the better

I planted all mine a few weeks ago went I went to the allotment today,( We have been away for my 84th birthday) they are all showing apart from Cara. I plant leaving the soil flat so I have plenty to cover them with tomorrow.

I am still rather fascinated by Apache (red potatoes with white blotches). They store very badly, so now I know to eat them up first once they are lifted, but I have just planted 16 of the sprouting ones, and this time I will leave them in their patch until they have finished doing their thing. Last year this meant that as well as growing good-sized (medium) potatoes down below, they sent out a tangled network of shallower horizontal shoots with yet more baby potatoes at all the tips. I dug them up for the bigger potatoes, but this year I shall leave them and just see what on earth they do with the shallower shoots (which I will cover with compost).

I did ask last year if anyone had noticed this tangled network effect, but no reply. Anyone this year?

http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties/apache

 I planted my first early, Maris Bard, as well as second early, Kestrel on 21 st March. Today they are both about 10 centimeters high, but covered in fleece.

I'm only growing 1st and 2nd earlies this year and I finished planting them few weeks ago. Yesterday I did see first show of tops through the soil  But...nights are still quite cold so all the rows had mulching of grass clippings and comfrey leaves.

My rows are still 'flat' as I try not to bury my plants too deep this year...it is so hard work to dig spuds from 'other side of the earth'.
I'm trying keep the tops safe from frost  for another few weeks by mulching with 'greens' and after that I shall pull some soil up, to  make shallow ridges around the tops..that's the 'final touch' and then my spuds (and weeds amongst them)can romp away as they please.
I really really looking forward for some new spud again ..YUM YUM...