The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

GreyQueen

DigForVictory wrote: »

Have just been told should not plant kestrel spuds since crop hoped for in last Weeks of July "and that is exam season".

Blimey. Since have son out of school & another without serious exams, may well source chit & get 'em in Anyway on grounds complainant wouldn't recognise a spud from a cherry tree most months of the year.

As I understand it [being a digger rather than dictator], coax them into showing green but only get 'em in the ground After The Frosts are over? [I could all too easily be wrong here] One website says "the last week of April is the UK average" - does anyone have a better idea of spuds, shoots & global warming forecast this year?!

When the spuds go over and are ready for harvesting is completely dependant on the amount of rain. I usually harvest 2nd earlies like Kestrel in the first week of August. They'll be OK if you have to leave them in the soil until the slaves are ready to harvest.


You need to plant spuds well before the last frost, because of the length of their growing season. I plant the 3rd weekend of March. Run a garden line down, dig a hole with a trowel about 6 inches deep and pop the tater in.


Then I deliver a short lecture about it's responsibilties and wave it a tearful farewell. Leaving the line in place as a guide, I use the rake to draw up the baulk, rinse and repeat for the next row.


Even though they're probably 14-18 inches underground, the tips of the shoots start to emerge abut 20 days later, although it will be more like 30 days before most of they have breached the baulks, and at that point they're tiny.


We have had vicious frosts here as late as 17th May, but they're not common, the last frost might be six weeks prior to that. With the taters in May, I'm always a bit anxious until we get past the end of the month.


Frost will sear tater tops and they'll shrivel and, if it's bad enough, die back. They can grow a completely new set of tops but, since they're relying on the stored energy in the tuber until they can get their leaves open and photosynthesising, each time they have to regenerate their top growth, it weakens the plant. HTH.

jamanda

We are in a "blight" area, and I've found Ferline tomatoes are very resistant and a nice fruit.

thriftwizard

jamanda wrote: »

We are in a "blight" area, and I've found Ferline tomatoes are very resistant and a nice fruit.

A long time ago I "trialled" Ferline. I'll never know whether they would have done well in a blight; unfortunately the seedlings definitely weren't slug-resistant! I've not ever had slugs eat small tomato plants before or since, and most people are probably too sensible to leave them outside overnight until they're big enough to repel the horrid blighters by themselves. But it's worth bearing in mind.

mardatha

happydays89 you might be around the same climate as me or maybe slightly warmer. I'll have a look at the strawbs, ty.
I grow tomatoes indoors on a south facing windowsill, just unsure when to start them off.

monnagran

Sorry to butt in. Good Friday is the day to plant spuds. I thought everyone knew that.

GreyQueen

monnagran wrote: »

Sorry to butt in. Good Friday is the day to plant spuds. I thought everyone knew that.

But you're religious and know that Easter moves by several weeks, year to year, doesn't it? Good Friday 2019 is 19th April and this is about a month too late for tater planting. Unless you happen to be in the far north and it may be just right.

mardatha

Yes, I got told by an old neighbour to wait until mid May.

GreyQueen

What time of the year do May sown spuds finish at your latititude/ height above sea level? As you know, I'm several hundred miles south of you and much lower down.


Several hours playing on the lotties yester, with the leeks sown in mushroom punnets in the cold frame. The lady on the next plot was sowing her leeks in an edged bed but I don't use beds and find I tend to lose leeks/ have them disappear under weeds, unless I either buy or grow them in containers until transplant time. The past two years I've bought them for a couple of ££ from a garden centre but this year I'm DIY-ing it with a pkt of seeds which cost me 15p from Wilko in last Deptember's sale - much more MSE.

mardatha

Maincrop in Oct GQ but earlies in East Lothian are ready in July. I think the long hours of daylight make up for the late planting times a bit.

jk0

This is so funny:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAOlfopSD_g