Planting machines are still in the shed for the time being

When we talk about early potatoes for the French fries industry, Belgium - and mainly Flanders - is the cradle for this segment. Last year, 6.500 hectares were planted. Given the needs of the processing industry, it is unlikely that the area will change much this year. Insiders report that only a few hundred hectares are in the ground at the end of March. Good for about 5%.

Early start
In mid-February, on Valentine's Day, the first potatoes for consumption were planted on Dutch soil. Work could also be done at the beginning of March. Many potato growers then waited and took advantage of the circumstances to spread manure and carry out soil cultivation. The cold temperatures at night in particular deterred growers from starting their planting machines too early.

After that time there were hardly any opportunities to go on land. Only a single plot has been planted on the high and dry sandy soils in the South of the Netherlands. Temperatures have risen slightly, even at night, but there is no real growing weather. In the southwest the precipitation gauge is at 80 millimeters to more than 100 millimeters. Locally this has caused some problems with rotten tubers. About 60 millimeters fell in a short time and that was sometimes too much of a good thing.

Delay in Germany
There are also delays in potato planting in Germany. The early potatoes have been planted smoothly from mid-February in areas such as the Palatinate and the south-west of Germany. In Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, where more early industrial potatoes are grown, planting has not yet taken off. Insiders in Germany expect a stable area of ​​early cultivation.

Is this now a late spring? The last days of March will be crossed off the calendar this week. If you can get started at the beginning of April, no one will be left overboard. A lot also depends on the weather that follows in May and June. Ultimately, this largely determines crop development. A year ago we had a pretty early spring. It was possible to sow and plant easily from mid-March, after which it became wet in early April and even some snow fell.

Drier but colder
This week it will certainly continue and there will certainly still be falls meaningful precipitation. This has everything to do with a jet stream that lies directly above our country. This causes varying temperatures, a lot of wind and therefore quite a bit of precipitation. The first week of April will be - as it seems now - drier and lower temperatures. Especially at night it can freeze a few degrees. For real warmth we have to go to Southern Europe.

With this type of weather, the current spring is very similar to the situation in 2021, when it was also wet and cold. Even then, planting could only really get started from the third week of April onwards. There was a really late planting season, especially in the Northern Netherlands. In June, potatoes were still planted.