[gimli]

 :)hi i have an allotment and recently the chap next door gave his up and is it was only small we have took it on to clear it.
(he was hardly ever there and its a bit wild)
im still quite new to my allotment as it is and a novice.

my problem is the chap says he has potatoes in one bed three rows of them he says he was hopeing they would grow .
my question is do i need to dig these out or leave them
he doesent know what kind of potaotoes they were or anything like that
i did dig one up and it has shoots on as if its growing but i always thought potatoes wouldent grow in winter.
there is nothing abouve the soil to show that there there.

do i dig up or leave in 

but on a plus side my cabbages and brussles look great so far. :happy:

[Elcie]

mmmm that is a tricky one!  I guess you don't know when he planted them?  It sounds to me like he planted them recently and hoped they would grow.  They probably will but not for a while yet until the soil heats up.  I don't think leaving them there will do them any harm as long as they are covered by soil, and they will probably grow in the spring (similar to the way that 'volunteer' spuds do - ones that have accidentally been left in the ground).

I guess it depends on whether you want the space for something else or you are happy to wait and see!  Congratulations on getting a second plot by the way.

[gimli]

thank you very much i will leave them in and see.
its not really a second plot as its very small and its being shared out between two of us.
we have no waiting list on ours so other wise it will just sit idle and that seems pointless.
i was going to ask one of the older men close to me on the plot but they already think that as im female and under 50 im just a slip of a girl lol
so thought id ask on here and look like i knew what to do
i have learned so much from reading on here.

[strangerachael]

If they start to come up in early spring you will need to protect the foliage from frost.

[Aidy]

I would first ask what is your ground like, if its heavy clay, poor draining then I would be tempted to lift them as they would probably rot before they grew, also if you do get top growth with the temps and light levels dropping you wont get many spuds anyway. Personally I would lift them.