[adri]

Hi,

I put in some Kestrel earlies and I'm not sure as to when to lift them.  Do I wait till the plant starts to wilt or what?  Could do with the space to put in some winter veg seeds bought from Aldi.

Many thanks

Nick

[adri]

anyone?

[Ice]

No need to "bump" a thread after less than two hours.  Someone that can answer your question will do so only if they are online.  Have a look at site policies.
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=19481.0

[DD.]

I use my Kestrels as a main crop, rather than "new" spuds, that being the case I let the foliage die back a bit first.

[Lee G]

"officially" Kestrel are second earlies so as DD says can be left to mature as a maincrop or lifted sooner if you want them as earlies.  Other than a couple of freebies Kestrel are all I grow as I fell in love with the taste of them last year (my first year on the plot), and I use them just as a maincrop too.

I think 18 weeks is the quoted growing time, although last year my foliage died back after about 16 (I didn't get them in until mid/late May though), but I still had a decent crop.  This year they were sown almost a month earlier so I'm hoping they can go "all the way" to 18 weeks, if not longer, and although weather beaten, the foliage is still healthy looking.

Why not start your winter veg seeds in paper pots until the space is free, I'm sowing some this week when I get a chance.