Potato planting time.

[Jungle Jane]

I’m planting my first lot of potatoes out on weds 14th,the temps look a bit better & the moons waning so it’ll be a bit darker for them at night.

[Baldy]

^^ Sounds a bit scary Jane.. not sure my baby spuds would appreciate that

[bikermike]

...the dark side of the spud...

My potato planting is now going to be dependent on when the plot drains. Last year I put them in on the 25th, and I'm not at all sure I'll beat that this year.

Is it possible to slow chitting down? I don't want them chitted out before I plant them

[Thelma Sanders]

I’m planting my first lot of potatoes out on weds 14th,the temps look a bit better & the moons waning so it’ll be a bit darker for them at night.

I'd hold off if I were you, many of the weather models are saying that after this w/end we are going to get more unseasonably cold weather.

I won't be taking a chance with mine, that's for sure.

[1Bee]

Honestly, it's not so much when I want to plant them as when I can get the ground ready for them... I don't do proper earlies, only Charlottes (although I'm trying a couple of rocket in a tub in the back yard this year... when I've finished using the tub for weeds from the front garden I'm trying to clear...) and I always fleece them, because they usually go in a little before the predicted last frost date.

We pretty much always get blight, but then I mostly grow blight resistant. And I do remember the crop of blighted potatoes that had a good 50% of tubers that were excellent quality and stored really well.

So I try not to stress it.*

Last year I do remember worrying about how to lift the fleece off the Charlottes when we had a frost in May/June.... Bigmal told me about short canes with bottles on top. I miss Bigmal.

So they go in when they go in. And I get potatoes at the end of it.

*I nearly always fail.

[DataMonkey]

...the dark side of the spud...

My potato planting is now going to be dependent on when the plot drains. Last year I put them in on the 25th, and I'm not at all sure I'll beat that this year.

Is it possible to slow chitting down? I don't want them chitted out before I plant them

I'm getting worried about my Arran Pilots - some have chits on that are two inches long. I'm guessing that as long as I'm gentle putting them into the ground and don't damage the sprouts, they will grow as well as any others.

The other varieties are chitting much more slowly.

[Snoop Puss]

^If the worst comes to the worst, you can even rub chits off using your thumb and the potato will start again... That said, I planted some potatoes out one year with terribly long, spindly chits. And they did OK.