Frosted potato leaves

[Millymollymandy]

After two frosts I've just discovered some of my spud leaves all brown and frosted - never had this problem before! Will they be OK? They've been earthed up once.

Also all the self seeded potimarrons look sad and frosted bar one (luckily the one I was going to keep as it is in the right place). I had also had the foresight to dig two up and pot up which are happily growing in the cold frame. The rest were just left there as backups so it doesn't actually matter than they got frosted.

Everything else is fine including dill and lettuce.

[Odsox]

Yes, your spuds will be just fine.
They will throw up more shoots and recover in no time.
Worry not.

[Millymollymandy]

Cheers Tony.

[chadspad]

All very depressing this frost business Ive lost my runner and climbing beans and most of my butternuts. All the vines have been badly hit - think it wil be an expensive year for wine

[Keaniebean]

Thanks Tony, I had been wondering the same thing too.

[Millymollymandy]

The spuds looked almost recovered yesterday and growing away happily so that didn't take long.

[Bonniegirl]

We had piglet eat all the leaves on our potatoes leaves, thought all was lost. But they've all grown back. Just need to see if we still have spuds.

[Pennylane]

does anyone use straw to cover the potatoes or does everyone earth them up?

[pelmetman]

We earth up, hadn't thought about straw, but its so windy here think it would just get blown away
Sue

[Pennylane]

We earth up, hadn't thought about straw, but its so windy here think it would just get blown away
Sue

I can just picture that, luckily I have a wall around my garden.

[prison break fan]

I use straw to cover my potatoes, also grass cuttings.I just lay the seed potato on a little nest of comfrey leaves, and then keep covering them all summer. No digging!! All the men on my allotment site think I'm mad, but I get lovely potatoes. pbf.

[Millymollymandy]

This year I am trying the plant really deep and earth up twice to ground level way of growing spuds. This way they will stay moist (or at least be easier to water than trying to water onto an earthed up row where the water just runs away) and I will be able to walk up and down the rows to pick off the Colorado beetles instead of trying to do a tightrope walk along the narrow space left by earthing up!

[Odsox]

This way they will stay moist (or at least be easier to water than trying to water onto an earthed up row where the water just runs away)

This illustrates the very different climate conditions there are around.
In the west of Ireland the locals grow their onions, as well as other crops, on top of earthed up rows so that they are well drained.
Horses for courses

[Millymollymandy]

I think I'd ideally like something in between the two! It's a total experiment but it's what Jandra does so I was up for trying it. The downside is that it will be harder to dig the crop up.

[Pennylane]

I use straw to cover my potatoes, also grass cuttings.I just lay the seed potato on a little nest of comfrey leaves, and then keep covering them all summer. No digging!! All the men on my allotment site think I'm mad, but I get lovely potatoes. pbf.

I need to make life a bit easier for myself so I am going to have a go this year with straw as well...and grass cuttings...thanks for the tip..