Mainly out of curiosity, I lifted a root of Rooster today, and was really pleased to find a good number of large tubers. I was quite surprised to find that the skins on them already seemed to have set, as it's still quite early in the season.
What I was wondering was, what is to be gained by leaving the crop in the ground at this stage? I know that it is normal to wait for the plants to die down before harvesting the potatoes. But I was wondering why. The last couple of years I have been forced to lift my potatoes this early because of blight, and as long as they were dried well first, any healthy tubers have stored perfectly well over winter, even though their skins were not fully set when lifted.
Given that the skins on the Rooster have set, wouldn't it be better to get them out now, before blight or slugs or any other potential problem affects them? Or will the flavour change / improve if they are left in the ground?
I know that a lot of you have a lot more years of gardening experience than me, so I'd welcome your opinions on this!
