Hi, I'm in the Tucson, AZ, area and today, 01/11/04 I planted
potatoes. Anybody have experience planting so early? We have frost
once in a while, but a deep, extended frost is quite rare. I mulched
heavily with straw!

Also planted beets, spinach, lettuce and sweet peas.

Daring I am, I might say!

Mike

I live in a totally different climate and it's silly for me to reply.
Here I go anyway.
I suspect you have done a good thing. It takes a little while for
potatoes to get above ground. Once they do, they might freeze, but there
will be more sprouts that can grow later if needed.
Everything that you planted can survive a little frost and grows best in
cool weather. If you are going to grow these things, an early start is
worth a try, and might be the only way to go.

Steve in the Adirondacks where we got above zero today for the first
time since Wednesday.


Michael P Gabriel wrote:

Hi, I'm in the Tucson, AZ, area and today, 01/11/04 I planted
potatoes. Anybody have experience planting so early? We have frost
once in a while, but a deep, extended frost is quite rare. I mulched
heavily with straw!

Also planted beets, spinach, lettuce and sweet peas.

Daring I am, I might say!

Mike

(Michael P Gabriel) wrote in message m...
Hi, I'm in the Tucson, AZ, area and today, 01/11/04 I planted
potatoes. Anybody have experience planting so early? We have frost
once in a while, but a deep, extended frost is quite rare. I mulched
heavily with straw!

Despite what books say, potatoes take light frosts, specially if
mulched heavily. I used to live in Zone 8, but now I live in Zone 5.5
and I plant potatoes, usually, in early April, 5 weeks before last
frost. They come out, and regularly take a frost or two without
blinking.


Also planted beets, spinach, lettuce and sweet peas.

all right. Specially the peas and the spinach, in Tucson, the earlier
the better.


Daring I am, I might say!

Mike

not really. Yesterday I harvested some radicchio under my tunnels,
which had taken 0F 2 nights earlier.