Kitchen Garden Forum

its my first time growing them,theyre currently over 5foot! how do i know when theyre ready to dig?

Hi Fish

Quick answer: when your calendar says it's October.

They'll grow to eight foot by then and start dying back.

Alan

Hi Fish

As Alan says, October is when to start digging, but only dig what you need to eat and leave the rest to grow.

I leave whatever is left over to grow the following year and have a permanent bed, but they can spread like mad. Some people dig out every last tuber and then replant what they need.

How they manage to do that beats me. An old boy in the village once told me that you could never get them all out - and from experience I've been inclined to agree! A bit like picking runner beans - you always find one enormous one lurking somewhere. Your fellow allotmenteers must be very thorough!
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Granny

thanks peeps !!!8 feet! wow nice looking plant too!

Do watch how many you eat, fish. They tend to have rather socially unacceptable consequences! Just a warning.

But after the first, explosive, reaction, the more you eat, the less the effect.

Alan