[coo!]

howdy ive been to wilkos to get some seeds and other bits and bobs i wanted to get some tatta's but the earlies said sow feb-march and they had no sprouts yet some i would have to chit them 1st wouldn't i? so would i bee best to just start main crop?
ALSO! i got a big sack of tats that we use for dinner and they are starting to grow sprouts of about an inch sooooo can i plant these or do i have to get the seed potatoes? thanks in advance Coo

[Allotment Jon]

My early pots are still in the cuboard. I thing that when it says on the packet, plant Feb / March is based on the the weather that is normal for that time of year. I would of thought that it should be alright for another week or two to get the frosts out the way. I could do with knowing myself as I was looking forward to new potatoes.

I was told not to plant pots from the shops as they may not be virus free rather than seed potatoes that are.

[LivvyW]

Your not restricted to Feb/March for earlies, in fact Feb sound a little early to me.
Plenty of people don't chit either, so if you fancy earlies, i'd go for it.

Maincrop will take longer to mature, so you will be waiting a good while for your first spuds.

I'm doing a bit of both, earlies went in on St Patricks day, and maincrop will go in 3rd week of April (weather permitting)

I wouldn't plant supermarket spuds, waste of time, energy, manure and space if they didn't work.

Allotment Jon, get them out of the cupboard and chit if  you fancy, remember the frost only affects them when the shoots are out of the ground.  You could get them in and have weeks of frost and they would be fine. Only when they peep through they are at risk and you can always just cover the shoots with soil to keep them protected.

[Ampthilldon]

Earlies are fine to go in now.Don't worry about chitting them it's not critical to have them chitted just gives them a bit of a head start.

Don'tplant the ones from your cupboard. Stick to buying seed potatoes from a good source and plant those. My earlies have been in a week now and I will be planting my 2nd earlies this weekend and maincrop a couple of weeks later.

[LivvyW]

Snap Ampthilldon !     

[coo!]

Sound advice cheers folks! i'll buy some seed pots tomorrow from garden centre and bang em in! How many rows of earlies and lates would you recomend putting in theres me the wife and 4 daughters?

[Allotment Jon]

If you look on the potatoe council website for info and choose a variety that stores well it is not so much of a problem. Last year being my first I put in about 50 for me, the wife and 2 kids. With a minimum of 10 per plant I had sacks all over the house however did not have to buy any for a very long time.

[coo!]

  i didn't realise how many there were!