Kitchen Garden Forum

My large box of seed potatoes has already arrived from Thompson and Morgan, which is awfully early. I am proposing to leave them in their netting bags inside the open box in our dry and frost-free but cold garage, only covering them up if it gets really cold and threatens to freeze in there. Do you think that's the best way to store them? I couldn't possibly put them out to chit yet because we can't normally plant our potatoes until late March or into April.

Dear Monika, that sounds an ideal thing to do with them.

As you said just make sure they stay frost free, and the other thing to watch for is, if it does turn mild is that they don't get long straggly shoots.
But i'm sure you will have them nicely chitting by then.

Thanks, OH, I just hope they'll be ok.

Hi Monika,
If these were my potatoes I would store in a frost free enviroment well ventilated and for the present in total darkness and hold them like that until I put them out to chit.
JB.

Monika wrote:My large box of seed potatoes has already arrived from Thompson and Morgan, which is awfully early. I am proposing to leave them in their netting bags inside the open box in our dry and frost-free but cold garage, .

mine have been deliverd to oh so early.but like you monika mine are nt the garage in an old fridge with the door adjar

I think it is very naughty of T&M to send these out so early. I would get back to them and have a good moan as it will be difficult for most us to keep seed pots safely until late Feb/March planting time. Most mail order places send out their stuff at the correct time for planting in your region.

John

No - T&M regularly send theirs out very early. They're better at delivery than Marshalls though. Marshalls' carrier left my box of potatoes on a random doorstep in a local village because they couldn't find our house and there was a heavy frost and snow for several days before anyone found it. Many of the potatoes turned to mush, but they replaced it so that year I had 1 1/2 lots of potatoes!

I would take the potatoes out of their net bags and put them as for chitting in a cold dark place. Then if they do start chitting, at least they'll be chitting properly. Why not put an early crop in the greenhouse in bags in February or late January? I've sown earlies in February and kept them covered with heavy duty fleece most of the way through. A chap on an allotment I used to work, used to sow them in cut offs of huge plastic drainage pipes and kept piling in soil as they develpped and had the top covered with greenhouse glass.

I too think T&M are remiss in sending the spuds at this time. Why should they assume that everyone has the right conditions? [I haven't]. In fact, when I ordered, i specified my assumption that they would be sent out towards the end of January at the latest. To cap it all, they've sent me Arran Pilot [which I didn't order] instead of the Internatoinal Kidney [which I did], even though International Kidney appears on the delivery form. Not an impressive performance.
mike

You've reminded me to have a look at my seed potatoes stored in the shed. I keep them covered in a layer of insulation like the stuff they make duvets from, but sometimes they start sprouting early.

If any are determined to send out shoots I take them out of their net bags and plant them in the greenhouse border, quite deep and cover them with a thick mulch of leafmold, then when the shoots come through I have some fleece ready for frosty nights. I find the Charlotte and Shetland Black are the first to sprout and I have a nice early crop of these by about the end of March, and they are cleared out of the greenhouse before I want to get the tomatoes or any of the spring things in.

Hi all,
New to the forum, just thought I'd add that I have put my leftover
Pentland Javelin (1st earlies) in pots in the greenhouse (with heater)
as they were sprouting in the kitchen cupboard.
Not much happening yet!

I have just had my seed potatoes brought to me by someone in the next road. They had been dumped over their fence by the Marshalls carrier over a week ago, with a note pushed through their door. Unfortunately they were away, so did not find them until their return.

The potatoes do not look too bad, despite the frost, so I have put them in trays to dry out, and will see how they go. I have contacted Marshalls, and told them I shall expect replacement if there are any problems, but they seem indifferent to the antics of the carrier, who regularly seem to be spreading potatoes at random round the country if the experience that Jane E and I have had is anything to go by.

It's yet another problem with Marshalls after my soft fruit debacle two years ago - I have already split my order, and Marshalls may lose the rest of it next year. It's all right reimbursing the cost of the damaged goods as they have readily done, but you cannot make up for lost time, especially with early crops.

Hi Ian,
A few years back I reported Marshalls to Trading Standards and won the day. I now have nothing to do with them as they are very unreliable people to deal with. my complaint was about seed counts. They said 100 per packet unless stated. The most I got was 24 to the packet.
They tried to maintain that the seed I had ordered was an F1 seed and 30 was the correct amount because other F1 seeds within the catalogue had a count of 30. None of the packets supplied had 30 seeds and they would do nothing about it. Trading Standards sorted it out and within two weeks I had the correct amount of seed that I had reasonably expected.
Would you believe in the following years catalogue nothing had been changed and it said 100 seeds unless stated. I remember them as "The Fenland Onion Company" then they were a superb company. I believe that they are now owned by Unwins but trade individually.
JB.

There seem to be more and more of these so-called 'carriers' driving around in white vans dropping stuff or not as it suits them. We've suffered a couple of instances before Christmas of parcels being 'returned to sender' when our house couldn't be easier to find - nothing to do with Marshalls or any other seed outfit though. In one case after we complained a woman turned up in her private car with our stuff!
Some places like Amazon have really got their act together, use reliable carriers and also email you when your stuff has been dispatched so you know to look out for it. Parcel Force and Business Post are very good here as you can even track the delivery online and our regular postie is excellent. Other outfits seem to trust their deliveries to just about anyone. The government in its infinite wisdom is considering selling off yet more of the mail service to some of these other dodgy outfits. Words fail me.

John

Evening bicci, i have only just noticed your posting, so a late, warm welcome to the forum.

Any sign of your potatoes yet, if not they won't be long in coming through i'm sure.