The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: chairmanphil on March 25, 2012, 04:25:39 pm
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when is the best time to get the potatoes in on a warm spring like tis?
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You have to judge it backwards from the last average frost for your area - don't be suckered by the lovely warm weather we are having - there is still plenty of time for snow, at least up here . Here we can get frosts into early June, so I tend to plant my potatoes out in the middle of April. They take a couple of weeks to come through = early May, then they are small enough to be earthed up whenever frost threatens for about another 4 weeks or so. I'm sure in the south you can get away with planting them now, as long as you are vigilant about possible frosts.
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plant them every few weeks to be sure.
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In Aberdeenshire we had a saying - plant tatties at the spring holiday weekend(April 25th) , harvest in the July (Start of Trades) holiday weekend. July 11th.
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Despite the surface frosts and anything can happen yet, I would be tempted to start a few, I have (not putting all my eggs in one basket). I have still got a few in the ground from last year as I did not manage to get them all out. They are well chitted with good strong new shoots. If they break through the soil, there are not to many in to cover.
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going to put the first king teds in today.
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Oh I love King Edwards - so tasty, but they always get blight in my garden (this used to be a potato farm years ago and the spores have stayed) so I can't grow them :(
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Oh I love King Edwards - so tasty, but they always get blight in my garden (this used to be a potato farm years ago and the spores have stayed) so I can't grow them :(
i'll make you some patatas bravas next time you are in Oxfordshire! ;)
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Oh I love King Edwards - so tasty, but they always get blight in my garden (this used to be a potato farm years ago and the spores have stayed) so I can't grow them :(
i'll make you some patatas bravas next time you are in Oxfordshire! ;)
Well thank you :wave: but that could be some time away :D :D but send me the recipe and I'll make my own. I grow a variety of tattie types so something will do :yum: :yum: :thumbsup: At the moment I am stuck for new recipes - my OH has very specific dietary requirements, so any simple recipes that don't take all day to prepare, made with home-grown ingredients will be MOST gratefully accepted.
At the moment I have tatties, onions, garlic, kale and PSB, plus stored squashes and whatever is in the freezer, including HebHogget, plus endless eggs of course - does that inspire some recipe ideas?
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loads i'm a chef! will have a did through for ya and see what i can come up with.
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Thank you Chef, I look forward to trying whatever you design :thumbsup: 8)
How about a weekly recipe of in-season produce? I think many of us would love that, both during gluts and when there isn't much at all to work with in the veg patch.....
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Thank you Chef, I look forward to trying whatever you design :thumbsup: 8)
How about a weekly recipe of in-season produce? I think many of us would love that, both during gluts and when there isn't much at all to work with in the veg patch.....
sounds like a plan. i put your patatas recipe up earlier so have a go at that and i'll get you a brussell sprout recipe to have a got at with the last of them. mind you i would think the heat of the last few days has finished them off!
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this is my rule of thumb
when you are just about all set and ready to plant them and the weather is fine and the world is just peachy
leave it another 2/3 weeks as there is bound ot be a frost on it's way!!!
i was always told to plant them after paddy's day (Mar 17th) but thats far too early for Scotland. I'd leave it until the end of april - and then plant them at 1 week intervals over 4 weeks
this year, i plan to start some very late - July time - but they'll be kepy in containers in the greenhouse - hoping for fresh charlotte spuds at christmas time!
Also, to save my back this year, i'm going to try growing my spuds in a stack of tyres i picked up from the local exhaust and tyre fitter.
simply lay 1 tyre on the ground, fill with compost, stick in seed spuds - when teh shoots come out, add a tyre, fill with compost and repeat for as long as you can manage. At harvest time, instead of digging, just take off a tyre at a time and shake the muck out
fingers crossed!!!!
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I generally time my planting to the time when I manage to get the spud beds dug over (or dug in this case, as I'm breaking new ground and use the spuds as a clearing crop). As I've been held up for a few weeks with other stuff, I'll start that today.
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putting the first ones in this weekend! still some light frosts but nothing too mad so here we go!
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first ones in today, fingers crossed!
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put the spuds in behind the peas cuz it is space that never gets used.
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/fandange/philsphone017-4.jpg)
should clean the soil and be good for potting up next year ;)
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There is a last frost average date chart for USA and most of Europe on the internet . it is developed as zones and for lots of people is quite useful . Keep records though and see if you have a micro climate that changes things .
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There is a last frost average date chart for USA and most of Europe on the internet . it is developed as zones and for lots of people is quite useful . Keep records though and see if you have a micro climate that changes things .
they are planted under some larson pines, it has to get very cold to get them there!
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as I've been under water for the last week, I am going to put the potatoes in over the next few days!
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got the first shoots up!
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Got small spud sprouts here too :thumbsup:
I buried them, because that's what you do, isn't it?
(This is Vegetable Growing brought to you by What Doesn't Kill Them Makes Them Tastier)
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got leaves in all the pots now, i am going to just let them go and see what happens
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My early spuds looked very healthy but 2 days ago we got a frost in the hollow part of the veg patch and it hit the spuds !! :(
I planted a main crop in my neighbours veg patch last week. Her son got the vintage tractor out and we planted 3 long lines so hopefully the will sprout soon and we will be frost free from now on.
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My early spuds looked very healthy but 2 days ago we got a frost in the hollow part of the veg patch and it hit the spuds !! :(
I planted a main crop in my neighbours veg patch last week. Her son got the vintage tractor out and we planted 3 long lines so hopefully the will sprout soon and we will be frost free from now on.
lets hope summer gets here then!