[Ma Lowe]

THERE AREN'T ANY!!!!   


Ok I know I shouldn't have and they have only been in the ground about 6 weeks but they were flowering and I thought I would take a look to see how many potatoes were there.

That will teach me won't it .... there weren't any just long white root things how dissapointing is that.
It said in the book when first and second earlies flower they are ready for digging up  so I did .... and they weren't

Should there have been tiny potatoes by now? Do I have duds and all this growing watering space taken up is a waste of time?

I know I know I am impatient .... want everything yesterday 

[Lardman]

Ok I know I shouldn't have and they have only been in the ground about 6 weeks but they were flowering and I thought I would take a look to see how many potatoes were there.

Give the poor things a chance ! they needed at least another month. Theres a lot that goes in to making a potato.   If you have any left in the ground leave them there until mid Aug. If you can find some more tubers the old bloke next to me has just put another 3 rows of earlies in for a second crop !

[aelf]

way too early yet! earlies need about 10 weeks before they are ready. They may have flowered because they are stressed by the unusual weather that we have had so far this year. Give them a bit of a feed and keep the soil moist (but not over wet) and they will be ready in about 4 weeks  

[Snoop]

Ma Lowe, I'm no expert, but flowering alone isn't a reliable indicator that you have spuds waiting to be eaten. You need to leave them in the ground for a certain number of weeks depending on whether they are earlies, second earlies or maincrop. If I recall rightly, John has a good article on this site on growing potatoes. He talks about how many days you have to leave the different types in the ground.

I started lifting my earlies at ten weeks (70 days) and thought that was a bit optimistic. They were in fact OK - a good size for new potatoes.

[Trillium]

Can't imagine why anyone would say they're read for digging when the flowers show up. Not at all true! It's merely an indication that the tubers are starting to fatten up now. So a little more patience, Ma, and you'll eventually get something by the time you see the plant tops dying back.

[peapod]

Theres a few on my site who say the same...I just wait until the foliage dies back and get me fork in 

[Ma Lowe]

Sitting in the corner tapping fingers on table waiting ........ and waiting ....... tap tap tap
 :blink: :blink:

[twissle]

AWW i'm going to plant some now. Just moved thought i wouldn't be able to do any till next year

[Trillium]

It's not really too late to put in some potatoes. They won't be huge by Christmas but you'll definitely get some. All potatoes want to do is grow, unlike cucumbers which really just want to die 

[madcat]

All potatoes want to do is grow, unlike cucumbers which really just want to die 

I never knew that sheep and cucumbers were related - but there is clearly a family resemblance! 

[Snoop]

Sitting in the corner tapping fingers on table waiting ........ and waiting ....... tap tap tap
 :blink: :blink:

Ma, if you compare potatoes and leeks, you'll see that spuds are actually quite speedy!

[Trillium]

Ain't that the truth, Snoop. I'm dying for some fresh leeks but they're still so small. My early potatoes planted on the same day will soon be ready to harvest.