Frost damage to spuds despite covering!!!

[womble]

Twas -4 here last night as well as Monday. Supposed to be May. Feels like March.

Aye and March felt like May, as long as June doesn't feel like November I'll be happy

[selfraising]

My spuds look stuffed

Oh no Fi Think I'm just going to have to play the waiting game and see if they can produce fresh shoots. Not a great start to the growing season

[dogsbody]

Mine have been hit too, got caught out completely, the greenhouses suffered too. Oh well, at least the chickens survived!

[selfraising]

Does anyone know if we're expected to have more tonight?

[womble]

Does anyone know if we're expected to have more tonight?

They all say about a min of 4c for me tonight, but the skies looking suspiciously empty of clouds and it's starting to get a bit chilly. No where near last night though.

[selfraising]

Thanks Womble hmmm think I will cover the spuds again just in case because they are at the bottom of the garden which slopes down slightly. Roll on milder nights!!

[TheBeeKeeper]

Hi all,

I just happened to be at the pub after the parish council meeting last night. Had a chat with our local potato farmer, told him all my potatoes were frost damaged. He said, don't be worrying about it, they'll still come through, just a little later than you would have normally be harvesting. Many commercial growers with 50 acres+ of potatoes can't afford to fleece the crop, they just cope with the weather as it comes!

Has put my mind at rest at least, if only for a short while until I realise I may have bought him a pint just to be fobbed off!

TBK

[selfraising]

Thanks for that Beekeeper it's certainly put my mind at rest too and thinking about it, it would be impossible to cover all the spuds farmers grow. Perhaps they make allowances for losses by growing extra.

[winnie]

Some of ours have caught the frost but not all-pentland Javelin in a mixed row seem ok!! Should I cut the blackened leaves off the rest or just leave them?

I'm hoping that all is not lost-seems to be a chance from reading these posts that they can now re-shoot!

[selfraising]

I was wondering that too Winnie!

[womble]

When mine have been frosted in previous years, I have never bothered taking the blackened leaves off them.
Going back to TheBeekeepers analogy, I don't think you'd see a farmer do it on 50 acres of spuds

[FionaH]

good point Womble

[tattieman]

I have had frost damage on my fleeced potatoes in the garden. It will set them back abit but I will still get a crop from them. It has just been a backwards year so far.

[Two_Sheds]

We *never* get frosts this late over here on the Eastern edge, but yes: my potato foliage has turned black too

[Dane End Dolly]

I have no foilage left on my charlottes, but my king edwards, roosters and pink fir seemed to have some green left on them so cross fingers. I have not even let my beans out of the greenhouse in days, will need to go over the lottie soon though, i hope this frost does not keep going on.