Grow Your Own Magazine

hey all hope you all having a good break.. any hoo when can i plant my pink fir apples just got a load from dobbies and would like some info as my last attempt failed thanks in advance

Hi nosferato, any idea why your last batch failed? What were the symptoms? How big were they? What's the ground like?
I think you should be able to plant apple trees at any time during their dormant stage, ie before the sap starts rising in February-March, depending on where you are in the country. If they have arrived then I would plant them as soon as possible, assuming they are bare-root, soak the roots well first and then dig a big shallow hole so that the roots can spread out and stabilise the tree. I think Monty Don was planting trees just before Christmas, so you should find some relevant advice on the Gardeners World website.

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

Hey BW, ain't nosferato talking about pink fir apple spuds?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

hey all er was asking about potatoes but thanks for the tree advice.. reason lost last lot was due to the rain we had earlyer in the year they drowned

Not sure, that's what I thought at first and I started writing about tatties and then I noticed he said apples... which confused me... easily done... didn't recall that the full name of the potato variety is indeed pink fir apple... oops!!!

This is me, who being invited to a dinner at the a local inn with some French people who were over for a shoot, was served as one of the courses a circular vegetable cut in two, topped with stilton and grilled. I knew the owner of the inn grew a lot of heritage tatties so I asked her what variety it was. Loudly, as she was serving down the other end of the table at the time, her reply came back - it was an avocado.

I'm going to shut up now and leave them advice to someone else *cringe*

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

I wouldn't even consider planting seed potatoes before Good Friday, but you could/should unpack them and leave them in a cool (frost free) light place to produce nice little green shoots from the eyes. Egg trays are good, one seed spud per hole/cell/whatever you call it.

RUSTYLADY
Good friday! I hope to be eating my first early's by then.

Where and when do you plant them PaulW? It's ruddy cold here in East Anglia during early spring and I won't give greenhouse space to spuds.

It's far too cold, wet and dark for potatoes yet.
Easter is when they go in ... seasonal veg and all that ...

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Make sure you just keep taking the tablets BW!!

Can't understand where they get there name from though? OK they are pink, but they aint furry and they look nowt like apples!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

It's FIR not FUR.

Can't find any info on the origin of the name though... still searching...

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Fir apples could equate with fircones? They're certainly knobbly.

Your'e starting to sound like Peter from the spelling police!!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

A mixture of Fir cones and Oak apples?

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

RUSTYLADY
Its cold in suffolk in the middle of July, sun shining blue sky and a constant east wind, lived in Hadleigh for a year and over the border in Billericay for two years.
Down here in tropical dorset I put my spuds in in mid Feb, they are put in with a bulb planter then I earth up then it is all covered in straw the plan is it is going to take at least six weeks before the shoots appear that brings you into april and with a bit of luck there wont be anymore hard frosts.

We start some early spuds in containers too - can't remember when mind, but before easter!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

PFA are a late maincrop I believe..........at least mine were!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I think you're right snadg but I was on about 'earlies' not pfa!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Sorry about that Manda, I somehow got the idea that the thread was about PFA..........but not to worry at least no one will plant em thinking they are earlies now, although they have that early/salady texture! They can of course be lifted immature and used as earlies!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Hello Nosferato, potatoes are frost tender, so you can'y have them up before danger of frost is past - whenever that is in your area.
You can plant early if you're determined to have them early, have a sheltered site and prepared to give them some protection.
Pink Fir Apples are a main crop. I'd be inclined to wait until April before planting.
I will be planting earlies in buckets in Feb with a view to eating in May - but that's me. This some of what I got in May last year.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

OOhhh get you! I thought the thread had deviated to talk of when to plant spuds in general?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Touche!!!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Well I might be a bit touche, its me hormones!!!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."