Recovering potatoes

Sunday was mild with a strong breeze at times but no more rain after the over night showers. Having visited the plot it's still very dry and the rain that did fall hasn't penetrated very far into the soil. However all is not lost as the forecast is for the showery weather to continue. One prediction of the rainfall for the next 7 days is below. We might just be in the green zone.

Rainfall to 16th May  - link to site

Our Duke of York potatoes that suffered from frost damage on Tuesday are recovering. Rather too late I covered the damaged shoots up on Wednesday and the fresh sprouts are already coming through.

Potatoes - Red Duke of York

I'm very surprised at the potatoes I planted in potato sacks. I only planted them on the 1st April just a week before I planted our potatoes directly into the plot. I did wonder at the time if it was worth the effort - just how much would be to gain from planting up my potato sacks and then leaving them to grow on in the greenhouse until the space is required for tomato plants. I think the picture below shows how much protection the plants receive in the greenhouse.

Potatoes - Winston

These are Winston potatoes planted on 1st April and my Winston planted directly in the plot are just coming through. The greenhouse potatoes escaped any frost damage and with any luck they will provide us with some early potatoes well before the outdoor crop.