First earlies...

Just wondered - how do people judge when you can lift new potatoes? Once they've flowered, or should they be left longer? Thx.

The Charlotte are flowering right now, and may be worth a furtle, but the Swift need to be lifted first!

Funnily enough, this odd spring weather doesn't seem to have made any difference to their growth - apart from dashing down there to cover them up when there was a frost alert!

I decided to have a go at using supermarket flower buckets for my Charlottes this year. 

17 seed potatoes (from the Poundshop), and I've harvested 16lbs so far, by carefully removing from the bucket and taking a few from each one.   

I'm hoping to have enough home made compost next year (the most expensive part), and will use this year's remains to top up my raised beds. 

Have harvested about 5 Pentland Javelin roots despite no show of flowers. Quite a variation in size but I've always found that with my pots, and we've had three boilings so far.

PJs always look great when just boiled, GG!

We took up some Swift today, and the skins can be pulled off, if you like them like that, and Mrs Growster did a fry-up with them which was delicious!

Sharpe's Express ready, despite no flowers and only half the height the foliage ought to be.  All very strange this year.

We don't bother with first earlies as we weren't blown away with the taste.

We stick with Charlottes which we eat as new and leave them to grow on for roasting and mash and Juliettes.

Late spuds don't do well on our site as we have blight. We tried some last year and all we got were stinking mush.

We have tried a few different spuds as well as the Charlottes this year but I can't remember which they are.

We found that last years potatoes lasted until May. The last ones were just about to go over and mad them into oven chips for the freezer. We then get a bag of Jersey royals which take us through to the first Charlottes. Mr Bee is digging some up as I type.