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
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