Potatoes - where to start? (Merged Thread)

almond

will prepare soil and plant later this week thanks for advice

_gav_

OK guys, I along with many others on this forum I guess have ventured into growing my own spuds, now come the questions :-) I have searched the forums but can't seem to find the answer!

I planted out two different types of earliers, one which appears to be flowering, the other not.

Now, I have read here that the spuds will be ready after flowering? My question is how soon after flowering should I harvest?

For one of the containers of the type that didn't appear to be flowering I emptied them out yesterday and there were about 30 or so small spuds. Not bad and tasted great, but I get the impression I was too impatient and should have left them longer. When should you harvest the type that don't flower?

Any advice gratefully received! :beer:

cheers

Gavin

olibearhorse

I grew earlies last year for the first time. Planted them in Easter and got my first crop around June. They continued to grow and flourish right through to September. I think the lovely thing about potatoes are that you can dig them up, take a look, if they're not ready, cover them up and leave them a bit longer. I started to eat them when they were really quite little but by the end I had some really decent sized potatoes and they were delicious!

I would just keep taking a peek and harvest when you want them. They'll grow a lot more yet I am sure!

alibo

I totally agree with the previous poster, as I only have a small plot I just plant earlies ( planted on 29th March), they havent flowered properly yet , though there are flowers there, checked a fortnight ago and there was nothing there, replanted that root, checked again last sunday and had enough on two roots for dinner, will leave them in till at least september harvesting as required, they do loose a little of the wonderful flavour you get now but still very nice.

Fen1

You really need the flowers to come out then die back. Unless your plants are in a very warm, protected spot, early cropping basically means mid-June onwards. However, always go by the plant, not the calender, as conditions vary from year to year.

You could try setting new plants to go in your bare patch for an autumn crop.

I recommend Monty Don's approach to veg gardening for the newbie.

_gav_

Thanks guys, I'll leave 'em alone for the time being :-)

Biggles

I believe not all earlies flower, what type are they?

_gav_

I have Charlotte and Sharpe's Express in. My labels have faded so aren't sure which is which, but I believe the Sharpe's Express is the one currently flowering, no sign of any flowers on Charlotte yet.

Biggles

A swift Google says that Charlotte flowers are 'white with a yellow centre' but that Sharpe's Express don't flower.

A little 'grope' will often tell you whether there are any sizeable taters, just slip your hand under the plant and feel around. If you feel anything eatable, pull it out, if not either try another plant or leave them a couple of weeks.

As mentioned above, if you dig a plant up you can take what you want and replant it, water it well and it'll carry on growing the remaining tubers.

Spooky_Pooky

Hi - Mr spooky is growing lots of fruit and veg this year for the first time... it's all looking very healthy though the potatoes are beginning to look like they'll take over the world... it's all a little bit 'day of the triffids' to be honest!

How do I know when they're ready - they were planted as earlies so I'm thinking it should be coming up to the right time, and I'm dead keen to get cooking but I don't want to dig them up too early and ruin all of Mr Spooky's hard work! A lot of the plants are flowering at the moment - not sure if this helps?

All help gladly appreciated - especially if you give me permission to start digging them up... yum!