What weather for potatoes!

It is alarming to think how dependent crofter were on their potato patch when you consider the weather in this part of the world.
We had a warm March and I planted some of my early potatoes outside. Then April came and it got cold and frosty. No problem the potatoes were well down, no chance of damage.
May arrived and the chitted potatoes really needed to be planted, in they go, where are the early ones? Still no sign.
Warm weather finally and all the potatoes began to come up. They start to grow strongly in the heat - up to the high 20's here, not usual even in summer! The long days and warm nights, for a full week, make for some rapid growth.
Then June arrives and the temperatures plummet. Reaching 10 degrees during the day is a struggle. On the 2nd June the frost strikes, three frosty nights later and the potatoes are gone.
Now I look at weeds with the occasional potato shoot peeking out of it's frost bitten stalks. At least the weeds are sheltering the potatoes and once I see the potatoes growing strongly again I'll hoe the weeds away.
Early potatoes will not be a feature this summer, but at least we have had a harvest from the potatoes in the polytunnel. These are grown in pots and were fleeced during the cold nights, sadly nearly all eaten now, but very tasty they were and a reminder of why we try to grow them despite the weather.