[sachkrimbo]

Hi all.  Wondering if anyone has advice/tips on best time to plant chitted first early seed potatoes?  Not yet done mine, having chitted for the past week, and heard that there will be quite a frost this week.  Should I go for it or wait til after the frost?  I usually plant them around March but worried about the frost!!!

[DD.]

It boils down to knowing when you're going to get your last frost.

Therein lies the problem.

I may well hang fire until April up here, considering the frosts we had in June last year. There again, it could turn tropical.

[RichardA]

In North Lincs -- I would go for end of March but would keep hilling them up as well as have fleece or several thickness of debris netting handyto cover down if frost threatens. My garden tends to be warm in the sun but can act as a frost pocket if still and cloudless at night.
R

[stompy]

I would say end of March too.
Everyone on the site last year got their tatties frosted  but they all recovered.
If you know there's going to be a frost like said above, just fleece them but so long as it's only the tips that get it you'll be ok.
I think getting them in earlier and getting a little frosted whilst avoiding blight is better than not getting frosted but suffering blight.
This is just my opinion mind, but it is backed up by experience.

[Stevens706]

I planted my earlies 27th March last year, they were slightly caught by late frosts so I will fleece them from the off this year.

[mumofstig]

Mine went in on the 17th March, and the usual earthing up and a couple of nights with fleece kept mine safe from late frosts last year

[Salmo]

If you want proper earlies, that is by early June, you need to plant them in mid-March. Even really early bulking varieties like rocket need 70 days to produce a crop. The 17th is St Patricks Day and traditionally the day to plant potatoes.

You do take a risk with frost but most years you can get away with it with some fleece. Last years sharp frost on 15th of May was exceptional.

If you want to play safe wait a week or two but it will be well into June before you experience those first golf ball sized potatoes. The very thought of a platefull cheers me up on this cold and dismal day.

If you believe the old sayings ' If March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb' the end of the month should be warm and sunny.

[Kristen]

I plant the first week of April. After 3-4 weeks the "fast" First Earlies get to the point where I cannot earth up any more. Last year even covering them with grass clippings and a double-layer of Fleece they got caught by the frost (11/12th May). Although having said that I don't think we had a frost in May for the preceding 5 years)

I would suggest planting enough plants for what you can eat in a fortnight, and then planting the rest two weeks later - less effort to try to keep the frost of them then - and I would not rush to put main crop in, although they will be slower to get to the point where you can't earth them up any more you might as well not have to work so hard to keep them alive!

I grow a few bags of spuds for early crop, hence I'm not in too much rush for outdoor earlies

[Aidy]

You may of heard me say this saying before 
"In with Paddy and out with Billy"

[fredhogg]

Going by posts of some members, you could consult the LUNARtics calendar.Personally i prefer to take the advice of the old Druid down the pub.

[sachkrimbo]

Wow, I go out for a few hours and you lot go crazy.  Thanks.  Think I'll wait til after Paddys day to get them in and then tuck them up with some fleece.

[peterjf]

traditionally we start our planting on good friday ,

but saying that, last year we got hit by late frosts in may last year,

[mumofstig]

But Easter is 3 weeks later this year, than last, so you should be ok 

[fatbelly]

An old timer on our pot puts his 1st earlies in during the first week of March every year, which to my mind is way to early here in the N-West.

Each year he loses a proportion of his spuds to frost but he reckons that because he plants early he gets an early crop when the new spuds are still expensive in the shops.

He was caught out with this method a couple of years ago when we had a week of the most severe frosts in April and his haulms were 6 inches high, whilst the rest of us who had planted later were safe because our spuds were hardly showing and we were able to cover with soil.

He has got one of the largest plots on our site and has plenty of space.

[AndyRVTR]

You may of heard me say this saying before 
"In with Paddy and out with Billy"

Billy who?