When is the Right Time to Plant Potatoes?
The right time to plant potatoes depends on:
- weather - not frosty or raining
- soil conditions - dry, loose, good structure
- geographical location - windy, northerly slopes will be planted latter than south facing lowlands
- potato variety
Planted from end February
Second Earlies:
Planted from mid March
Early Maincrop:
Planted from late March
Late Maincrop:
Planted from late March
Click on the image below to visit amazon.com & find out more about this book or visit the TopVeg bookshop.
The right time to plant potatoes depends on where you are in the country, the weather, soil conditions and what type of potatoes are being grown.
Here is a bit of trivia for ya from The Curious Gardener’s Almanac.
Potatoes were BRITON’S principal source of vitamin C in the 2 world wars. Cases of scurvy soared in 1916 when part of the potato crop failed. Today 90 percent of the world’s potatoes are grown in Europe!
Comment by Deb - March 5, 2008 3:44 pm
Deb- more potato chat:
The Irish potato famine, 1845-1851, caused by potato blight, killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland and caused another million to flee the country.
Before the Famine, Ireland’s population had doubled to over 8 million, because bountiful potato harvests meant the people were generally well fed
By 1851, at the end of the famine,the population of Ireland had dropped to 6,552,385 because there were not enough potatoes to feed everyone.
Comment by TopVeg - March 5, 2008 5:32 pm
The social history of the potato is one of the most marvellous books I ever read, and highly recommended if you have any interest at all in this subject…
Comment by Soilman - March 11, 2008 11:48 am
Hi Soilman
Thanks - it gets more interesting as you read more about it! That looks like a good birthday present for TopVeg!
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg - March 11, 2008 1:43 pm