potato foliage dying

harrys_nan

Needs some advice please.
The foliage on my 2nd earlies is dying off, so my question is;
A, Do i chop off the foliage and leave spuds in the ground
B, dig them up and then what?
C, anything else??

answers on a postcard :rotfl:

harrys nan

McKneff

Have they flowered and the flowers died off.

harrys_nan

They haven't all flowered some have, we are using them and they are good potatoes, we just cant use them quick enough and i'm not too sure how to store them.
I have dug some up and have got some drying off on the lawn, to tough up the skins and will then keep them in a hessian bag, just not sure if i'm doing the right thing.
Harrys nan

realfood

Most people leave them in the soil for two weeks to allow the skins to harden off before digging them up for storage. Do not leave them above ground for more than a couple of hours to dry off, as they will go green.

Eenymeeny

Thanks for this post. You've answered a few questions for me. My earlies didn't flower but as the foliage had died down (due to being battered by the rain I think) I emptied the containers and cooked them. They were fine but the skins came off while cooking...now I know that I should have hardened them off!
I also have some in the ground which have lasted a couple of weeks longer but are looking pretty poorly now. I'm thinking do I just keep watering them and keep them in the ground for a few weeks? Thanks OP and anyone who can advise.

chris01623

My early crop did this. As a relatively amateur gardener I wasn't sure if there was a disease in the plant so I cut the plant off to just below gound level and left the potatoes in the ground where I am digging them up as and when. They have all been ok so far and they have been left about a week and a half now

Yorkie1

If the foliage is just yellowing and dying it is unlikely to be disease. Just dig the spuds up as and when you want. If you want to keep them in storage for a while, don't wash them until you use them. As others have said, let them harden off for a couple of hours on the surface before storing in a cool dark place e.g. hessian sack.

If the foliage is showing signs of blight, cut the foliage off and leave the spuds in the ground for a couple of weeks before lifting for storage (fine to lift them if you're going to eat them immediately) so that the spores don't transfer to the spuds.