"Baz" wrote in message
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"'Mike'" wrote in
:



wrote in message
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Baz wrote:
I bought a plastic tunnel the other day on impulse. I would only get
10 seed potatoes under it but its a start.
Do you get a much earlier harvest? I would like to know, I am always
on the
lookout for ways to get earlier summer crops.

I don't think we've tried potatoes under plastic, but I guess it
would protect against unexpected late frost, which can kill off the
top growth if
you've not been soiling them up enough. Some of ours got zapped by
frost last year.


We bought a house in Leicester with a big chunk of land overgrown with
everything. We hacked it down and ran the Atco Rotosythe over it to
'ground level' then spread compost in rows about 2 feet wide about 6
feet apart. Laid out black plastic about 3 feet wide right across the
'field' and cut crosses in the plastic every 2 - 3 feet and shoved a
spud through the cross into the compost.

Secured the edges of the plastic so the wind couldn't get under and
waited. 'Picked' the potatoes as they grew by lifting the plastic.

Later when they were really ready for cropping, rolled the plastic
back and collected the spuds in a wheelbarrow. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar to
many for us so gave them away by the sack load to the neighbours. :-))
Always keep your neighbours sweet, you have to live with them :-))

Spuds under plastic? Highly recommended.

Mike




Nice.
How did you water them?

Baz


We didn't!!

Honestly forgotten as to what sort of summer we had, but it always felt warm
and damp under there. I seem to remember slugs were a bit of a problem :-((

What was the summer of 1969 like? That was the year we did the spuds. 1970
we just made it respectable and had horses grazing and 1971 got planning
permission and there are now two blocks each with six apartments in them. No
more spuds

Mike
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Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
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