Planting potatoes early

[PLUMPUDDING]

I planted my potatoes in beds in the garden yesterday as an experiment.
Don't know if I read it in KG magazine, but someone said he always planted his potatoes in November and just had to keep an eye out for keeping the frost off when they emerged in spring.

Thinking that the ones you accidentally leave in the soil always seem to get through the winter and grow perfectly well I thought I would give it a try. I've planted them quite deep on a bed of compost (not too soggy so they don't rot) with a handful of potato fertilizer and a sprinkle of slug pellets.

If they don't survive I won't have lost much apart from a couple of varieties that aren't readily available, as I've been saving seed from my own potatoes for years so they haven't cost me anything. Logically they should do better kept moist and at a low temperature in the soil than in a paper bag in the shed or the cellar. I won't have to watch them if they decide to sprout before the weather is suitable to plant them out and won't need to have them chitting in trays. My main concern is slugs, but think it is worth taking a risk.

Has anyone else tried this and how did you get on?

[Shallot Man]

PLUMPUDDING. Best of luck.

[Monika]

Sounds very daring (dare I say, foolhardy) to me, PP! I would have thought they will either rot because they can't put out roots before they get too cold or will be eaten by slugs. Good luck in any case and do let us know if it works!

[Shallot Man]

Monika. Yet those I overlook each season when digging up seem to survive and grow the following season.

[FelixLeiter]

I should be very interested to learn how these fair. My predictions are for erratic results, which is probably why this is not common practise. I can predict that you will lose more than a quarter of what you plant, as opposed to most spring plantings, from which at least 95%, quite often 100%, of those planted emerge. When a crop has gaps in it it can be a pain. Land is wasted because the gaps are of no practicable use for growing anything else in, and usually end up filling with weeds. I can see where the thinking behind this autumn planting technique comes from, considering how many volunteer potatoes can emerge. But you have to consider how many left-over potatoes from a previous crop perish. Of course, there is no way of knowing just how many. Still, with a mild winter (and hopefully a relatively dry one, because I suspect waterlogging will be your worst enemy) you might get lucky.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I was thinking Monika that the temperature would encourage them to stay dormant until the spring, and they are in well drained soil, so shouldn't rot. I'll definitely let you know what happens.

[Johnboy]

Hi PP,
It would be interesting if you were to investigate any gaps in your crop and try and ascertain why there was a failure because I am sure there will be failures. However I do hope you succeed 100% and prove me totally wrong!
JB.

[Stephen]

Monika. Yet those I overlook each season when digging up seem to survive and grow the following season.

Of course, that is the interesting bit. We all take great care to cherish the new stock but the escapees still grow despite the lack of help from us.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've planted 11 different varieties and kept a note of how many of each, so it will be interesting to see if any particular varieties do better than others - assuming any get through the winter.

I'll report back with the results, successes and failures.

One thing that interests me is whether being kept at a lower temperature will delay their growth in spring, because those stored indoors usually start sprouting long before it is time to plant them out.
I'll take note of when they appear and check it against last year.

[PLUMPUDDING]

The first potato shoots have come through this week - numerous of the Fortyfold and a couple of Desiree. No sign of anything else yet, but promising nevertheless. After this winter I didn't think any would have survived.

I'll post again when/if the others appear and let you know yields etc.

[Monika]

Interesting, Plumpudding. I am still not quite sure why you wanted to take the risk to keep them in the ground over winter. We planted our first potatoes into the open ground on 4 May this year and they just starting to come through. So there doesn't seem to be any advantage to have them in the ground over winter. And what about slugs?

Do keep us posted!

[Colin Miles]

Yes - interesting to hear how many gaps you have. And your soil type and 'normal' slug situation?

My outdoor potatoes, planted Apr 10th - 12th, have just started to show. Meanwhile in the greenhouse the Charlottes have never looked better. Normally they would be outside now and making room for the toms but the weather has slowed everything now so much and provided ideal indoor conditions for potatoes.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I read an article from a man who found this successful and now did it every year. I thought I would give it a try as the seed potatoes I store over winter in the cellar always start to sprout much too early to plant out and reckoned that they would be just as happy planted fairly deeply and allowed to grow when they thought it was warm enough.

I have a major slug and snail problem but put some pellets in the trench when I planted them and have treated the potato bed with Nemaslug when the weather warmed up a bit.

My soil is a clay loam, fairly heavy and moisture retentive but reasonably well drained.

So far I know they can overwinter, but will have to wait and see what sort of crop they produce. There are more coming up every day.

[PLUMPUDDING]

There is 100% emergence of the Fortyfold, Ambo, Orion, Rooster, Desiree, Salad Blue, Highland Burgundy Red, and Sarpo Axona .

There are 2 misses in the Kestrel.

The Pink Fir Apple is the worst with only half coming through, but they are a late one and some more may appear. Another reason may be that they are more vulnerable to slugs than the others. I may have a look underground in a week or two if no more have come up.

The next thing is how much they will produce and if they will be more susceptible to blight with being so late.

[John]

I always dig out any definite misses in case they are harbouring some rot or fungus which might spread to nearby haulms.
John