potato planting help?

I have a bag of king edward seed potatoes ready to plant - when is best to plant in the ground and how much spacing do they need. [i think they are main crop]

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Permalink Reply by Flighty on April 1, 2012 at 16:11

Yes they are a main crop variety which you can plant any time now. Plant them 5" deep, about 15" apart and a good 24" between the rows.

I dig individual holes, with a trowel, for mine which I find much easier and quicker than digging a trench.

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on April 1, 2012 at 19:27

Trowel also......Chits up.....

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Permalink Reply by bonniescot on April 5, 2012 at 23:28

thanks all - can they be planted in cold weather? i was going to do it over easter.

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on April 5, 2012 at 23:37

Yes

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Permalink Reply by Darren Blick on April 6, 2012 at 6:57

Just keep an eye on the frosts

The further north you are, the later the frosts are

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on April 6, 2012 at 7:13

Bonnie is in London.....

Darren Blick said:

Just keep an eye on the frosts

The further north you are, the later the frosts are

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Permalink Reply by Jan Willetts on April 6, 2012 at 22:31

You only need to worry about frosts once the foliage appears above ground. Earth up when shoots appear, keep topping them up till you have a mound of earth about 30cms high. If any foliage appears above that, leave it and let it grow-if a frost is forecast at that stage, cover the foliage with sheets of newspaper or agricultural fleece overnight, removing in the morning. You should be ok in London though-it's usually a bit warmer. Once flowers have appeared, you can think about checking the roots to see how big the potatoes are, just recover with soil after checking. King Edwards are maincrop potatoes so take a bit longer to get to a good size. Hope you have a good crop, home grown spuds are lovely!