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spuds in ?
man in a shed
Posts: 93
in Fruit & veg
Ay up , a few experienced allotmentiers have put their first earlies in (south yorks) ! now i wouldn't dare say to them "is it too early" won't frost affect them ? what do you think ?
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it'll be a while before they break the surface, and they might well have fleece on hand if it's going to be frosty.
o.k thx
I planted mine in sacks in my polytunnel about 3 weeks ago and they're just starting to emerge
They say the traditional day is Good Friday, but don't know why as it changes every year! I usually plant mine the end of March or start of April. But I'm in Dordogne, France.
I'm fairly sure we won't such a hard frost that'll penetrate the polytunnel. My banana has grown a foot in the last month after I thought it had died after we had -7C one night. Just shows one should never give up without a second chance.
Sowed my First Early Sharpes Express under a cloche on March 7th. 3 of them are up. Frost last night, covered with a sheet of fleece and all looks well and good this evening. The biggest problem with frost is that the early morning sun burns the leaves. If in doubt leave covered for a few hours so they thaw before exposing to the sunlight.
Busy-Lizzie - although the date of Easter and therefore Good Friday changes from year to year the relationship with seasonal changes may be closer than you realize.
If I have remembered correctly, Easter is the first Sunday after (or closest Sunday to?) the new moon that follows the Vernal Equinox - I know this because in sea kayaking terms it means we have the highest tides of the year so tide streams are running their strongest over Easter, which is a good thing if you calculate to work with the tide streams.
The effect of sun and moon on weather is significant and it seems fairly certain that the first astronomers were using the positions of celestial bodies to guide their farming calendar....
So your method may be more reliable than planting on the same date each year
I sowed my first early swift yesterday they are now under eight or nine inches of soil so I doubt that the frost will have much effect. I'll be getting the second early and maincrop in as soon as I can get the ground dug over, the sooner they're in the sooner they will grow.
Here in the NE we have had a week of frosts again so the ground will be far too cold. This year Easter is quite early so I will be planting sometime that weekend. I will be covering the bed with fleece just in case.