We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Too late to plant early potatoes?
Today I found two egg trays full of little Lady Christl potatoes, meant to be chitting on top of a cabinet in the garage, by a window but it's still fairly dark in there.. The shoots are sturdy but short, and purply-red and green, not long and white. I can't even remember when I bought them.
I'm guessing it's too late to waste the space planting them in the ground, equally it's probably not worth doing them in containers as that means buying an expensive load of compost to fill the bags. It just seems so WRONG to throw them away, the price of being so disorganised. Has anyone had success planting earlies as late as this?
I'm guessing it's too late to waste the space planting them in the ground, equally it's probably not worth doing them in containers as that means buying an expensive load of compost to fill the bags. It just seems so WRONG to throw them away, the price of being so disorganised. Has anyone had success planting earlies as late as this?
0
Comments
-
Bung 'em in! Will take 3 months + before they are ready, hence not "earlies" If blight is in the area you may have to dig up before maximum crop, but that tends to be mid August.0
-
I grow lady christl. Plant them, they will make up for lost time as the soil is warmer now. 12 weeks to furtling0
-
You can plant potatoes at any time of the year, my old Victorian books recommend planting earlies in November. You don't say where you are, but around here the late Spring means that everything is being planted a few weeks later than normal. Just throw them in and there is no reason why you should not get a good crop.0
-
Thanks for the reassurance, I'm in Cambridgeshire, on heavy limestone boulder clay, vile stuff and slow to warm up, but the slowly-expanding veg patch is on what was once a muck heap and has had plenty of manure and grit dug in over the last couple of years. The raised beds near the house aren't big enough for potatoes and I've just refilled a lovely old tin bath with strawberries, if I'd found them last week I'd have put them in there. It's the first time I've tried Lady Christl - Kittie, I remember reading that you recommended them. It was a hopeless failure last year with some other variety, Duke of York I think. I did two tubtrugs of them, and just one row in the ground, got one helping of tiny potatoes and slugs got the rest.
I've popped them in rows and covered with a fleece tunnel so the hens and rabbits don't dig them up. I haven't used these tunnels before, the hens might think it's a challenge...rabbit-proofing the plot is next weekend's job, before anything green goes in!0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.6K Spending & Discounts
- 247.6K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.6K Life & Family
- 262.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards