[JayG]

Maybe not good, but easier! 

[craggy]

Maybe not good, but easier! 

amen

[JayG]

 

[PAULW]

The reason the first early's are in is I want to be eating them by the end of May, If the weather had been drier for longer the second early's and the main crop would have gone in as well, I planted about the same time as this last year the spring was cold and nothing grew so I didn't harvest any sooner than some other people who planted a few weeks after me but the spuds were in the ground so I didn't have to fanny about worrying that the chits were getting to long and it was to wet to get them planted. I put them in ridge up then cover with a good foot of straw to save on weeding and the straw can be fluffed up over any emerging shoots if frost is forcast, as for frost as someone said you can get frost in June if you waited for if, but and what might be you wouldn't plant anything till Christmas then it would be to late

[DD.]

I don't know about anyone else, but I rather my spuds be sitting in the cool greenhouse in the dry, rather than buried in the cold, wet soil.

I'm not worrying about the length of the chits, I found some left over seed spuds in the shed in June last year and they were still only an inch or so long.

You're planting six weeks ahead of me, Paul, running the risk of the spuds rotting in the ground, having possibly to protect against frost, all just to get your spuds about 2 weeks sooner than me, despite 6 weeks earlier planting and the milder Dorset climate.

The choice, of course, is yours, but my spuds look quite happy where they are.

Oh - one last thing:

I planted about the same time as this last year the spring was cold and nothing grew so I didn't harvest any sooner than some other people who planted a few weeks after me

Anyone remember the title of this thread?

[Zippy]

My earlies and second earlies will go in around the third week o' March and tha'ts under a foot of bin-made compost; no digging beforehand. The spuds then root into the warmed soil and put most of their tubers out on top of the soil under the compost layer.

I put the year's lawn mowings on the top when shoots start through to block light from the growing tatties to prevent greening. Just pull the compoist back when I want to harvest to get nice clean spuds with no soil to wash off.

[fatbelly]

For the past two years I have planted my Earlies on St Patrick's day.
Given that is four weeks away I just can't see the soil being anywhere near warm enough this year. We still have lying snow around !

[PAULW]

Makes you wonder how the humble spud over thousands and thousands of years growing in the wild in cold wet soil without a global moderator to keep them in his greenhouse

[DD.]

They were OK minding their own business in the climate in Peru that they grew up in.

They were yanked from their natural home to our climate.

Makes you wonder how they survived over here unless being buried under a ridge of soil and a foot of straw was a natural occurrance way back then.

You go to all that effort and yet point at me for simply stacking them up in the greenhouse!

[PAULW]

There are plenty of volunteer spuds that survive the winter and appear in parts of the plot that haven't had spuds in for the last three years, wonderful how nature copes without mans interferance.

[JayG]

I understand the point you are making PaulW but it's not directly relevant to maximising your veg crop (I personally don't want to grow my spuds in amongst the sweetcorn and parsnips!)

Man's influence should be to understand and then work with and assist Nature rather than "interfering with it".

[strangerachael]

I seem to have stirred up a hornet's nest   
TIME OUT GUYS!!!! Look at moi look at moi look at moooiiiii

I think I'm going to stick to my original plan - end of March!

[craggy]

I understand the point you are making PaulW but it's not directly relevant to maximising your veg crop (I personally don't want to grow my spuds in amongst the sweetcorn and parsnips!)

Man's influence should be to understand and then work with and assist Nature rather than "interfering with it".

after reading all these theories,i,m still minded to keep to St Paddy's day!

[lisa80]

its end of march for us i think as long as the grounds not too wet we lost a couple of plants to frost last year think it was may :(it wasnt a ground frost had gone before most of us got up but did do some damage :)im so eager to get started but will be keeping my eye out for what the old boys do they know best :blink:

[mumofstig]

Plant on Paddy's day but have the fleece ready for any late frosts