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EARLY SPUDS

burgess8bsburgess8bs Posts: 51
in Fruit & veg
Hi everyone 

When is the best time to plant 1st early spuds and do I chit them now (I live in Staffordshire) 
Thanks for any help x 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Unless we have very unusual weather I’ll be planting my Charlottes in early April, so will put them to chit around the third week in Feb. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • burgess8bsburgess8bs Posts: 51
    Thanx Dove
    Not grown early before and  trying them this year. Growing Premier for the first time anyone else grown them? Hope a good spud.
  • BraidmanBraidman Posts: 274
    ,
    Hi Burgess
    Living a good deal south of you, last year with the fine Spring and the soil in perfect condition I planted my earlies (6Kgs), Dunluce on 23rd March, they grew away fine!
    When they were all about 12inches high we had a frost which slightly burned the tops, a week or so later we had a hard frost for here, the tops were cut to the ground.
    If I had been able to get fresh seed I would have dug the lot out, so I left them to see what happened.
    Terrible crop some very large ones the rest large size eggs would describe them.
    Other plot holders who had not planted so early only had some tops burned, so this year I will not plant so early!

    I tried Premiere last season, got them half price in Dobbies, they were for me very poor crop and taste, they may be different in your area and soil.

    Anyway good luck with them!
  • burgess8bsburgess8bs Posts: 51
    Tanks Braidman for the heads up, this will leave them for Feb when it may give Tham a better chance. Had a poor main crop last year came up fine then had Gales and living on a hill and exposed by fields most of the tops went tried to wind break but it got them hope for better crop's this year.

    Good luck with yours. See how they go.
     
  • pclark42pclark42 Posts: 186
    I have purchased some Epicure and Casablanca first early, they are in the spare bedroom in egg boxes already, they can sit and wait.
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