[Meik]

Hi all,

I have been a member of this board for a little while now and this is my first full year with my allotment, the question I have is around spuds do any type cope well with frost / cold weather....  I was hoping to get some in the ground before end of feb.

[prakash_mib]

dont think its possible  . the return question would be "why rush"?
You can contest that question by showing the voulanteer shoots from last year spuds battered by the cold.


please add your location in profile so people can give location specific advice.

[DD.]

There are no spuds that will cope with a frost.

Put them in the ground too early, at worse they will sit there and do nothing.

Far better to put them in warmer ground and have them grow quickly and avoid the frost.

As Prakash said - "why rush".  Spuds are a classic case of more haste, less speed. I planted mine in May last year and had one of the best crops ever.

You don't say where you are, (location in profile would be useful), but here in the Midlands, I would never consider planting before late March/early April.

[LilacSandy]

Put mine in in March last year and they were going great till a frost came along at the begining of May and knocked them back.  They were OK but took a long time to recover and catch up with the neigbours who had planted in April.  This year I will not be in such a rush.

[bigben]

Saint Patricks day is often quoted as a day to plant spuds (17th March this year?). I have been caught out once or twice using this and tend to leave it little later until April fools day (no puns please).

As DD suggests even as late as May still gives a good crop. If you have a few in pots that you want to risk early then as long as you are prepared to cover or move into a greenhouse etc, then you could start early. However if you planting in any quantity in the ground it makes it harder to look after them if frosts come. It only takes one bad frost to really set you back.

[JayG]

I have another reason not to plant too early - my soil has a potato eelworm (PCN) problem so I need to get my spuds up and running as soon as possible so they are at risk from infection for the shortest possible time.

I plant mine at the end of March/beginning of April in a 1 foot deep trench on top of a couple of inches of garden compost - the excavated soil gives you the material to earth up more than you could if planted in plain soil, which has proved very useful given the late frosts of the last few years.

(I usually give Mumofstig the credit for introducing me to this trench idea, although I don't suppose she actually invented it!) 

[shokkyy]

This year I've got some polytunnel beds to play with, so I am going to try a few first earlies in February. But even in the tunnel, I will be fleecing them if frost is forecast.

[Meik]

I wanted to get some earlies, mids and main crop in this year as only planted king edwards last year.

I have a limited window in feb / march due to the pending arrival of our secod child so I'm just trying to get a head start on things.

What would happen if I planded then and fleeced them for most of FEB?

[BabbyAnn]

I'm in total agreement with everyone regarding when potatoes should ideally be planted, and although it goes against the grain it might be possible to plant them much earlier if you REALLY don't think you can't do them later any time up to  May.  After all, rogue potatoes seem to survive winter and last year was exceptionally colder than usual and still they popped up.

You could perhaps plant just a few - worst thing is they don't grow or a frost damages them, at best you'll already have got ahead with some and you'll only have the rest to plant at the ideal planting time.

If it was me, I'd suggest planting without chitting so that the seed potatoes are still dormant when planted in the cold soil, and perhaps a little deeper than usual to protect from deep penetrating frosts.  Personally I wouldn't bother with fleece as this could encourage growth when you don't want it - that may sound daft, but I believe you will need to let nature work for you in this instance and let the potatoes grow at their own pace.  If the tubers survive, they will probably emerge later and not be as vigorous as spring planted spuds, and of course there is an increased risk of pests attacking the potatoes. You would still have to check on them once the leaves start to grow as that is the time when they are at their most vulnerable and that is probably when fleece would then be a good idea if you can't get to the plot often.

Hope that didn't sound too contradictory.  Good luck with the little one on the way BTW