[sclarke624]

Strangely the second earlies..........Maris Peer are flowering before the first earlies.........Rocket. :shock:

The second earlies are in a nice big pot which I am guessing is about 25" wide.  The firsts are in compost bags and those green springy garden bin/tidy things.

I think they are ready when they flower, I could be wrong.  Does any damage to the tats occur if I leave them in past the flowering stage  :?: .  I only planted them mid March.  I probably won't have a bumper crop as I got fed up adding compost  :roll: .  I must say as they are in containers in the garden, the Large pot, which was only £19 (from Brick Kiln one of our local nurseries), is much nicer looking than the compost bags etc..  The pot also holds the tatty foilage more upright.

[sclarke624]

Posted the above before reading the rest of the messages,.............so I note DB says you can  leave them past flowering endorsed by WG.  And mine are about three foot high as well.

Part answering my own post, the sunshine has gone to my head.

[WG.]

I personally regard the flowering stage as being unrelated to harvesting time.  It occurs when there is plenty of strong green top growth & I would surmise that only after flowering - when the foliage is starting to die back - is the plant putting all its strength into the tubers.

Sure ... if you are anxious for that first dinner of new tatties then dig up a few - maybe you need the ground for something else.  But if you want maximum crop of tatties, then leave them in a while longer.

[sclarke624]

Jolly good!  I'll leave them then thanks as I already have some tats in the fridge to get through.