Talkback: Planting potatoes - Talkback

28/03/2009 at 20:19

I'm with you on planting the spuds. Like yours, mine are already in. They are well mounded, with no growth above ground so should be well protected from frosts. Any danger of late frosts, once growth is well underway, is easily dealt with by protecting with fleece.

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29/03/2009 at 09:56

I've had my second earlies in a couple of weeks - there's no sign of them popping their heads through yet so I guess they weren't too bothered by last night's ground frost. The maincrop are going in today. I figure the sooner they are in , the bigger they'll be by the time the blasted blight arrives. Ian

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30/03/2009 at 07:20

I had planned to plant mine this weekend (Charlottes) but decided that the risk of frost was too great. I'm in the North East of Scotland, and I'm also a novice, so wouldn't want to lose my first crop. Hopefully next weekend.

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30/03/2009 at 15:40

I could do with a spot of advice please! I have never had a veg plot before, this is my first. I have read that you shouldn't add manure to beds for root veg, does this apply to spuds?

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30/03/2009 at 18:13

I'm in Nottingham and plant all potatoes in bags these days as ground space too precious, and I have inherited lots of concreted areas!Got my earlies,Aran Pilot & Dunluce,in a couple of weeks ago.2nd early Anya went in on 28thMarch, but I am holding off on the Main crop Sapro Mira for a couple of weeksas chitting not so advanced on them and it is rather cold.

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31/03/2009 at 19:45

I,M IN S. WALES AND MY EARLIES INTERNATIONAL KIDNEY AND RED DUKE OF YORK WENT IN ON 16TH MARCH. SECOND EARLIES NADINE AND OSPREY WENT IN TODAY 31ST MARCH.

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02/04/2009 at 10:32

The best manure is Cow manure and has a much better aroma. Get your potatoes in now and water well throughout the summer as it is going to be a very hot summer.A bit of cow manure is a great asset to potatoe growth.

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02/04/2009 at 19:57

Mrs G-H, I'm new to Veggie growing too, but I've read that it's mainly carrots and parnips that don't like newly manured soil, as they will tend to fork.

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04/04/2009 at 20:39

hi i need some advise last november i planted about 20 garlic bulbs which have all taken but when will they be ready to harevest?

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09/04/2009 at 20:25

Rob, I planted some garlic round about the same time as you. I Think they will be ready by July.

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03/05/2009 at 08:14

I find most of the 'professional' help quite useless as I don't have the muscles or a strong friend to do all the heavy work like digging clay soil and carry huge amounts of manure into my garden .. so I do it piecemeal. It's all right for the Montys etc of this world who have pretty greenhouses and straight beds already prepared (by avid students?) - I'd like to see them try it in some of our circumstances. My potatoes have gone into a couple of Travis & Perkins huge white rubble bags - tried to guess the spacing and have probably got it wrong.. Monty put three tatties in a compost sack and, as I don't use compost sacks I can't compare that to my rubble bag. No explanation given about how the potatoes grow downwards or sideways or what they do if they meet up with the other tatties down there .. Profs ought to get new students to describe what to do, as they are still fresh to the subject .. Sorry, I'm not generally a moaning minnie, just fed up with a world-full of useless information everywhere you go! Arthritic pensioner

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13/05/2009 at 15:27

Your garlic should be ready by mid June or early July. It's always hard to tell when it's ready to harvest so I usually dig up a bulb or two to see - green garlic is fab for roasting! Also my garlic nearly always ends up with a touch of rust on the leaves which makes me hurry up and get it out!

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13/05/2009 at 15:33

Denzilden don't worry! The spuds will all be fine I bet. I have bunged them all in, earlies and maincrops, within a week or so of each other before now whan I was really pushed for time due to a holiday and got good crops. The timings given are for a perfect world when jobs, holidays and domestic stuff don't encroach on your gardening time! Treat timings as a guideline in general - although I reckon you may have sown your carrots a bit early. They're really fussy about temperature when it comes to germination so I would resow now.

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28/06/2009 at 10:54

Ialways put all my potatoes in at the same time. First earlies second and main crop. All about the third week of march.

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05/07/2009 at 07:49

Are there potatoes I can plant now? Ive just emptied one bag of new potatoes (some a little small). Im growing in pots so any other things I can grow now tips please. I have onions, beetroot, sweetcorn, peas and mangetout on the go now.

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11/05/2010 at 15:35

My potatoes are peeping through. last nights frost has turned some of them black. will i have lost them.

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12/05/2010 at 20:17

the same thing has happened to me! first time ever, and I have been growing spuds for 10 years. do I need to take off the black leaves? only some of them are black. serves me right for watering them in the evening, i guess. just didn't get chance in the day, and was so excited about the first flowers coming...can someone answer about the pruning please...

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29/01/2011 at 11:20

I took over my allotment in Aug 2010,I have a space covered in black plastic all winter for potatoes. As soon as the grounds not frozen we (thats my husband, who has agreed to do the hard work) intend to dig some trenches put in well rotted horse manure then put the soil back. Is what we plan to do OK? I have got my potatoes, when should I start to chit? how long does it take? when do I plant potatoes in the north east. Help I am new Veg gardener

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28/11/2011 at 18:38

Hi new to all this aswell. Have i done wrong? i put all my spuds in at the same time.Should i have waited a few weeks between earlys,seconds and main?.Carrots been in a month but nothing showing yet.HELP!!

wayne pickering

23/02/2012 at 16:15

i am trying to work out when to put my spuds in. when do first earlys go in and maincrop/ second earlys etc not sure when to do them help