"Des Higgins" wrote in message
. ie...

wrote in message
ups.com...
Spud newbie seeks advice on planting timetable.

I was planning on buying some seed potatoes now and starting them off
"chitting", with the idea being to plant out in early March.
Some questions:
* How long does chitting take?
* Is early March too soon to plant, because of the danger of frost
damage? Location is Yorkshire.

In Ireland, Paddy's Day (March 17th) was the supposed latest to plant out
by but you might get a lot more frost in Yorkshire than we do. If no one
else replies, wait until later March to plant. Otheriwse, I have only
planted spuds once so I will happily bow to better advice.


There's no hard and fast rule, it all depends on your weather. Many people
regard Easter as the time to plant them out, but of course Easter is a
movable feast, and I suspect that this has more to do with having four days
off than anything else, it means you have time to plant the spuds and grout
the kitchen tiles. And paint the spare bedroom etc.

As for chitting, yes, start them now, mine have been chitting for a
fortnight now, and the ones in the kitchen veg rack have also started, even
though they're bound for the oven, not the allotment. As for how long, well,
until you want to plant them. Ideally when the weather is not only fine for
planting, but also forecast to be so for a few days after, so the soil is
warming up nicely. How would you like to be shoved in freezing cold soil
after several weeks indoors?

But the main thing to watch out for is frost after they've put shoots above
the soil. Frost will blacken them off, and although they will probably
restart, they will be set back. If frost is forecast, bury the tips with a
couple of inches of soil, they'll be up quicker that way.

HTH

Steve