Kitchen Garden Forum

Just a quick question, I have only planted main crop potatoes this year, Desiree and Majestic, should they be flowering now? as I know should be dug up around Sep or Oct.

Lots of our second earlies aren't flowering yet. Often we don't get flowers at all.

Same here, Redfox. When you think they might be ready, just proddle about a bit below the plant and check the potato size.

Redfox,

I've read that you should leave maincrop potatoes until the foliage dies down and that some people say remove the flowers others don't bother.

Hi, could be the exceptional early spring weather we had. Did you plant earlier than usual? - as Monika suggests have a little "proddle about"

a-a

I think people worry to much over the flowers being the governing point on whether the potatoes are ready or not.

If they are lates and the tops are still green, leave them alone and you will get a lot bigger crop.
If you dig them too early, and the skins haven't set, they won't keep very well.

thanks all, mine are starting to flower, but the plants themselves are not overly tall. Will leave them alone until everything has died back and see what I have

oldherbaceous wrote:I think people worry to much over the flowers being the governing point on whether the potatoes are ready or not.

If they are lates and the tops are still green, leave them alone and you will get a lot bigger crop.
If you dig them too early, and the skins haven't set, they won't keep very well.

Sound advice indeed oldherbaceous.

Barney

I lifted a couple of rows of potatoes yesterday and the soil was very dry. There were a good number of potatoes, but they were small to medium rather than any large ones. I usually wait until the tops start yellowing or dying back a bit and leave the ones that are still nice and green for later.

Lots of earlies yet to lift.

I am hoping that the rain we've had, although not much around here, will have done the maincrop sopuds a lot of good, as they have come into flower at the same time as the rain. It is said that they need watering whenthey flower. My earlies have been almost a waste of time, as it has been so dry in the spring.