Potatoes very big gamble

[kittykat8]

I am in Camborne Cornwall, and we get blight early once it starts coming in from the far west. I have some Red King Edwards and have decided to take a gamble. I covered some of plot with some white plastic, the type you see with scaffolding.

I pulled it back yesterday and dug holes for the potatoes, put staw then compost at base of hole added some feed, put potatoe in, covered with more compost and then more straw on top and then soil, and then put plastice sheeting back over. the straw I use is the fine straw that is in small pierces that I buy for my chickens. I have used clean straw.


Over night we have had load of rain and going colder for the next couple of days but the the southwest is going to be mild and wet over the next month.

but saying that my daffoldils are coming through about 6 - 8 high

The farmers have planted their potatoes a couple of weeks ago with no plastic.

These are my prize potatoes from tattieman, it will either go one way or another.

For people with tunnels my potatoes are now just starting to come through


Marion (Kittykat)

[Jeanied]

I was given the tip of only growing first earlies which aren't in the ground long enough to get overwhelmed by the blight. And putting them in the ground in succession so that you have a supply through the summer. Mulching is good for the soil-borne blight spores but once it is on the wind it travels where it will.

[gojiberry]

I usually sow my first row of potatoes on Valentines day each year. Most years I get away with it though last year the tops did get frosted and the yield was down. The first ones are charlotte which I keep seed from each year so nothing much to loose financially.

Ian

[King Carrot]

We also planted some earlies yesterday in a coldframe. I sliced up about 6 or 7 each of Sharpe’s Express and Rocket and planted a 27ft row, and yes its a risk but on the other hand we could be eating earlies in May. We are usually on the mild side here being right next to the sea and February plantings have worked out for me in the past, so not much to lose and everything to gain

Farmers do tend to plant their spuds very, very deep as they generally don't earth them up, so their spuds won't be as quick as ours with their heads above the soil and at risk from frost!

[Aberdeenplotter]

Yes, absolutely, if you are guaranteed to get blight, you need to grow the varieties that will be ready to come out of the ground when the disease strikes. You say the farmers have planted early but I suspect that they also will have planted earlies to capitalise on the high prices in the shops for these and of course, those growing commercially will spray the life out of them with fungicides at the first signs of infection.

[greengas]

Yes, absolutely, if you are guaranteed to get blight, you need to grow the varieties that will be ready to come out of the ground when the disease strikes. You say the farmers have planted early but I suspect that they also will have planted earlies to capitalise on the high prices in the shops for these and of course, those growing commercially will spray the life out of them with fungicides at the first signs of infection.

They can't spray against frost though, so what is there secret is it merely planting deeper?

[maytreefrannie]

For people with tunnels my potatoes are now just starting to come through


Marion (Kittykat)

Do you mean you grow potatoes in a polytunnel as well? I know this keeps out the frost; do you find it helps to protect from blight, or does it get too hot for spuds?

I ask because I started off a few in bins in the polytunnel, intending to move them when the frost is over - but I'd be happy to leave them in the tunnel if I could.

[Aberdeenplotter]

They can't spray against frost though, so what is there secret is it merely planting deeper?

I thought I had replied to this post this morning. Dementia must be kicking in.

I have assumed that if the local commercial growers have planted already, they will be confident that they will not be troubled with frost. Doesn't matter how deep the tuber is, its normally the haulms(or shaws as we call them up here) that get damaged with frost.

I don't plant until 20th April as we can still get frost here in early June. Why 20th April? It's when my dad planted his and he gave me my basic training.

[jackie j]

As long as you plant first and second earlies they should be ready to come out before blight strikes us in the south west.

[kittykat8]

The potatoes I have planted in the tunnel in december will be gone by early may at the latest to make room for my peppers, they are planted in the ground and not in containers. I do have some potatoes in potatoe bag planters which I will move outside when frost has gone maybe April.

I think down at our allotment there will people planting over the next few weeks.



marion

[Alison]

Far too early round here to be planting spuds outside but I will be putting a few in the polytunnel in a couple of weeks time. Did the same last year and had a nice early crop of earlies. Planted the rest of the bag outside at the end of March which followed on fron the polytunnel crop. Really good

[Lazgaot]

Crikey, planting spuds in mid Feb?!?? I know you're a long way south and west, but there is still a chance of frosts between now and April. I dont plant mine before the end of March or the first week of April as I've been hit by frost that have really set back the crop.

[Florence Fennel]

I can see I'm going to have to do a bit of a trawl to find when's best to plant. I've only done potatoes in planters for the last two years and I've not had very good results, only low yields, so I'm trying just a few in the ground as well as the bags this year.

[Shadylane]

I'm in Rotherham Florence and usually plant end of March/beginning of April.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Florence,

I used to work a lot all over Sheffield back in the 80s as a contracts manager installing domestic heating. It would seem that do to the hilly location there a several seasons in one city a bit like micro climates. People down by the river would be picking toms whilst up on Foxhill they were still green.

As to potatoes in containers I seem to do reasonably well down here in Nottm but I do give them lots of tomorite.

Colin