[Kirpi]

Just tried furtling for first earlies and there didn't seem to be many in the first three inches of compost. I thought about delving deeper but was a bit worried about severing any marble sized potatoes from the haulm.

I guess I was furtling around at about the 3 to 4 inch depth - was that deep enough?  This is in a raised bed of straw and composted materials. Not as clean as I thought it was going to be as the straw has composted into the composted materials and made a nice black but very moisture retentive growing medium.

[New shoot]

If you can get in at them from the side, it would be worth furtling deeper.  Worth digging up a single plant to see what you have got if not