[spursn17]

Hi all

I've started to put my potatoes in (Lady Chrstl) and have spaced them a foot between the rows, have I done this too close, and shall I dig them up if so, or just leave them?
I still have a few more rows to do.

Now sweetcorn.
I'm about to start chitting sweetcorn (stop sniggering at the back!) and have seen pics of little pointy bits growing when they're ready for planting. Do these pointy bits go up or down when potting them?

Cheers
Dave

[DD.]

I leave 24"  between rows of all my spuds and for first earlies 12" between plants. (Second earlies 15" & lates 18").  At your spacing you will struggle to find enough earth to hill them up.

The chits on sweetcorn are the roots.

[spursn17]

Oh dear!

Shall I dig them up (3 x 10ft rows), or just plant the rest properly?

Dave

[DD.]

Plan?

Leave them as they are, hill up as best as possible and use whatever you can, (grass clippings etc.) as a mulch.

Harvest the middle row as very new spuds first and leave the other two to grow on. Plant the rest with the wider spacing.

[digalotty]

im chitting my sweetcorn today, never chitted before as i normally go straight in the ground .
last year was not a good year as non of the fruits matured and ended up wasting the crop .
so this year is an early start.
with your spuds you could just remove the middle row, as they are hungry plants they will do better in a bit more space and will ejoy the extra sunlight they will gain.
just seen DDs post about harvesting as small spuds and i agree that sound better than removing straight away 

[spursn17]

Thanks for that, I didn't think of digging up the middle row first.

[prakash_mib]

did that spacing for maincrop in my first year. they are easy to find and dug the middle row (or every other row) and put them in proper spacing. MC needs heavy earthing and space to grow. 12" is not enough and you will find it difficult to water it later in the season.

Too early on sweetcorns. I do it only when I have played my first cricket game (somehow works out 3-4 week of april) 
they dont like indoors for too long (unless you have coldframe) and you have bring them inside if there is a frost risk.
if you are chitting on kitchen towel make sure it is wet while taking the chits out. the roots poke through the towel and get stuck. Ignonred, they will break easily. 

[DD.]

Lady Christl is a first early and won't need as much of the heavy earthing & spacing you mention, Prakash, especially if harvested young.

[prakash_mib]

Lady Christl is a first early and won't need as much of the heavy earthing & spacing you mention, Prakash, especially if harvested young.

ah... am a potato novice. 

[TerryB]

Make sure you check the sweetcorn every day because they should chit in about 4 to 5 days.
You can then pot them on if you have a heated grean house and let them grow on for about 3 weeks.
I'd cover the ground with plastic over hoops now to let the ground warm up and then leave them under the plastic untill the end of May

[DD.]

4 to 5 days?

Not as slow as that!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.0

[digalotty]

left mine in water overnight and then onto damp tissue and they sprouted in two days ,
not bad for old seed i didnt think many would come through but 99% are good 

[Salmo]

Potatoes -I would take the middle row out and replant them.

Sweet corn - if they are somewhere warm like the bottom of the airing cupboard they will chit in 2 days. I do not start mine until late April or early May so that they are ready to plant out after the last frost. It takes about 3 weeks from chitting to planting out. They want planting out when they are small. Leave then to get tall and leafy may impress your neighbours but they are likely to be checked more than small plants.

[TerryB]

4 to 5 days?

Not as slow as that!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.0

May depend were you put them, mine took 4 days.