[ceri green]

I have recently been buying various friuty plants form Aldi and Wilko ( raspberries, gooseberries etc and a kiwi .

should I plant them out yet do you think?

some of them are sprouting/budding a bit (kiwi and gooseberry) and others just look like dead sticks (mainly the rasps)
at the mo they are in the cold conservatory in the bags/wrappers they came in - what do you reckon?

also, why do you chit spuds? don't they do this themselves when you plant them? does it just make it quicker? and when you eventually plant them out do you leave the sprouty bit showing or do you bury it anyway?


Ceri

[vegikev]

hi. best to wait til march for the rasberry as long as the ground isnt too wet, infull sun is best and also sheltered. gooseberrys will be ok now if not too wet. kiwi will need to be clear of frost before planting but you can pot it on and keep indoors for now.
spuds are chitted by most people incuding myself, i think this may give them an advantage when growing, but commercially they  just put them in the ground without chitting. the chit ( sprouty bit) should be covered facing upward at 5-6 inches deep.

[woodburner]

As long as the ground isn't frozen or otherwise unworkable, I'd plant the rasps out or at least heel them in somewhere. Mine are currently heeled in on last years potato patch, still in their bunches of 10.

Potatoes need a week of warmth to break their dormancy so by doing this indoors (and then keeping them cool to stop them growing away) you can then plant them as soon as the weather is ok and they will start growing as soon as it is warm enough, rather than after a week of warmth.