Kitchen Garden Forum

Good mourning Johnboy. Just got back from lighting the open fires at the big house. See your an early bird to old chap. I would not dare to give you any advice on planting times, as you come up with some of the best information on this site.
But if any one can get a row of potatoes in the next couple of days it might pay, as they are on about alot of rain this week.
As john said potatoes dont mind cold ground but it is a pain to plant when wet.
Kind regards old Herbaceous

We will always get some sort of weather.

"Kind hands led him away to have his egg-and-milk shake" PGW.

And we have an Emperor if not an Empress of Blandings; Piglet, your time has come...

eh?

PG Wodehouse
Lord Emsworth of Blandings had a prize winning pig, his beloved Empress of Blandings. But you're a bloke, and clearly not a bloke who reads PGW!

We grow potatoes on a small scale vintage way in Somerset and sell to Farmshops, Markets and regular customers and we hope not, because we have been planting early Rocket since the 4 March until yesterday. That is about 1/6th of the Rockets planted. We hope to get them early because that is where the money is, we hope. The rest will go in hopefully during March. We will then get our maincrop in mostly Desiree with some Lady Balfour. You will notice we hope a lot, that is our way, we poke and hope.

Still, the early Rocket we planted is in good well fluffed up and manured light ground but it was a bit damp and cold at planting depths. None of our potatoes have chitted well no doubt due to the cold sheds they are in.

We have to rent new ground each year for our potatoes and most of the earlies and maincrop will have to go into heavy clay this year.

Our philosophy is if conditions allow, get them in early, especially the main crop.

But what do we know!

hello Jonhboy
Did not realize you got frost as late as that.
I can not really think of anything that you have not probably tried already regarding early potatoes.
The only thing i came up with was, have you ever thought about moving south?
The only problem being i am not so sure the people are as friendly,this could start some arguements.

Kind regards Old herbaceous.

We will always get some sort of weather.

P.S i still think you come up with some of the best answers.

debatable, but i bet were just as big a s--t stirrers