early pots...when do i know if they are ready?

brians_daughter

ok silly Q i know... but i dont know the answer! My dad gave me the pots as he didnt have room for them and i remember him saying they will be ready in june and they dont flower... i have tried digging down in my pot bag but i have been following the instruction he gave and have been dutifully been topping the compost up as they grow..so i think i may have a while to dig lol. They have grown well over the top of the bag and the foliage looks great, so to find out do i just dig deeper? advice please guys

ETA i have just had a little feel in the soil with my hands and i cant find anything, i have moved a little of the soil and i can see offshoots on the plant with small round things on them (pots i assume lol) but the are tiny.... what have i done wrong if they were emant to be ready now?

who would've though that pot growing was so exciting and stressful!

Mojisola

Are you sure about them not flowering?

Usually you give the plants a couple of weeks after they flower before digging them up - although there's no law to say you can't enjoy them earlier than that! The tubers will be a bit smaller if you take them earlier. Main crops are usually left until the plants die down to get the heaviest crops and allow the skins to toughen up so that they store for longer.

frazzbo

I think it depends on the type of potatoes as to whether or not they flower - mine didn't (we have charlottes and roosters), and the foliage is starting to die back quite a bit. We've had quite a few potatoes from our charlottes (I'm leaving the roosters to get a bit bigger, and the foliage isn't starting to die off yet anyway)) - the trick is to dig right down to the bottom because that's where the biggest ones are. Even if you end up with some tiddlers, they're still pretty tasty! The longer you leave them the bigger they get, but it's worth pulling something out from the bottom just so you get an idea of how they're coming along.

Oh, and one tip that is worth knowing is that you don't need to boil your home-grown potatoes for anywhere near as long as you would those from the shops - probably because they're so much fresher!!

brians_daughter

Mojisola wrote: »

Are you sure about them not flowering?

.

Absolutely - i still have the instructions Dad wrote down.. hes put in big underlined capitals THESE WILL NOT FLOWER SO KEEP YOUR EYE ON THEM! I cant ask him as they are on holiday for 4 weeks atm, meant to ask him on way to airport but forgot!! Thanks all for the advice, this forum is better than any book!

frazzbo

brians_daughter wrote: »

this forum is better than any book!

Agreed! :T

SallyForth_2

My Charlottes are flowering!

brians_daughter

SallyForth wrote: »

My Charlottes are flowering!

I am lead to understand most pots do...but typically mine dont!

Money_maker

My two lots of earlies haven't, the two lots of maincrop have!

Mayflower10cat

First earlies planted round about Easter Weekend will be ready now; 10 wks after planting or when they flower. 2nd earlies, 13 weeks from planting. I also have maincrop pots flowering now, all planted Eastertide! For us, new potatoes are THE reason we grow our own. We've dug up baby potatoes from most of the varieties we planted in our allotment back toward the end of March. It depends on what you want; for us new potatoes are like potato caviar................!!!!!!!!!!!!!