tatos,spuds,potato.

[gunners71uk]

well im amazed how many ways you can plant spuds there is the trench method .dibbing method.i went for the trowel method i dug a hole with me hand trowel and a handful compost with blood fish and bone.in the bottom out spud in and cover up 5ins drop i had dug and forked over the grown previously.
but i have met people who had rough land scraped weeds off made holes dropped them in and got a crop is there a wrong or right way.i might try the trench metthod too, what do you ALL THINK CHAPPS AND CHAPPESSES!!!

[Wombat]

G'Day Gunners!

The main thing is to get a crop!

The deeper the better, within limits, because the spuds form above the original!

Nev

[Tigerhair]

I was going to ask about spuds... it says wait until the danger of frost has past before I put them in the ground.... do I have to wait until the end of MAY before planting them???

[albert onglebod]

No because they wont come through straight away anyway.
Ive had some in for a month and they are only just showing.They are under cloches as we've had a couple of frosts this week.
Down here in kent the last frosts are somewhere around mid april so all the rest of my spuds are going in next weekend.
You can always earth them up if they do show earlier or cover them with paper held down with sticks.

[Millymollymandy]

Well I did a semi trench method last year and will go for a deeper trench this year - when I get to buy the tool I need to make those trenches (which will help with the earthing up too).

Then I'm going to get the seep hose along those rows so they don't get all dried out like last year. It is hard to water them sufficiently when they are earthed up.

We had a frost last night and minus 2.6C. But hey, it is only April!

[Andy Hamilton]

Mine have all gone in now and I agree with albert, just earth them up. Some gone into a tyre as well. Will have to wait and see what happens with that.

[ged.medland]

Hi Andy,
I tried spuds in tyres 3 high last year,they need some compost with a good fertilizer in the bottom tyre and plenty of water,as with most container crops they seem to devour water.Best of luck!I am going for a raised bed this year!
atb
ged

[Tigerhair]

thanks guys. when i earth up do i cover all the green?

[ina]

Depends on how far they've grown already... If you do it before they've grown too big, and maybe several times a bit rather than once too much, I just leave a bit sticking out so I know where the plant is! Earthing up also gets rid of weeds at the same time, so I like that method anyway.

With the weather as it is this spring I think I'll have to invest in more fleece and cover the entire veggie plot. Don't trust to an end of "late night frosts". The days have been not bad, but a few days ago we had quite a bit of snow again overnight!

[Tigerhair]

Thanks Ina, is there anything else I can use as I have no fleece? Will clear polythene do anything? I have access to that (before it gets recycled)

[ina]

Fleece has the advantage that it lets the rain through as well. I suppose if you just want to cover your plot over night to keep the frost off, polythene should do the trick... It would be like a mini polytunnel! I would keep it off the ground a bit - I do that with the fleece over plants as well. Stick large bottles into the ground (upside down), or sticks with a jar on top, and lay the fleece or plastic over that. That keeps it off the ground, and the jars prevent the sticks making holes in the material.
And don't forget to fasten the stuff to the ground somehow along the sides - large stones come in handy, or (if you are as lazy as I am!), garden tools (which should, of course, be cleaned and stored in the shed ).

[Tigerhair]

Thanks Ina - great tip.... I'll try that.

[Wombat]

I've used stray mulch ot potatoes to good effect.......

Nev

[gunners71uk]

1st and 2nd earlys.
when do you put maincrop in ???????????

[hedgewizard]

Same as for earlies, they just take longer to mature!