[chris23005]

Apologies if this has been asked before but if so I haven't seen a reply.

My second earlies have been in flower for over a week now and although some of the flowers are starting to die off, there are still buds on other plants. (Three plants in one container). The foliage is so big now that it is hanging over the side of the container and getting quite droopy, so I furtled a bit tonight (cos I needed some spuds for tea) and got enough potatoes out for what I needed.

Now what would happen if I chopped the tops of the potato plants off so that they are not drooping any more, but left them in the container and just furtled for spuds from time to time? And what if I earthed up those chopped off plants? Would they continue to sprout and make potatoes or not? And finally, if so, is it worth all the effort or should I just lift them and see what I've got?

[DavidT]

Chris, the foliage is the powerhose of the plant, leave it alone, and while it is still healthy, it will give you more spuds. When the topgrowth has died back, THEN you can lift the spuds.

[chris23005]

Chris, the foliage is the powerhose of the plant, leave it alone, and while it is still healthy, it will give you more spuds. When the topgrowth has died back, THEN you can lift the spuds.

Yes, I know that is what I am supposed to be doing, but the problem is that the plants are drooping over the sides and in some cases the stems are snapping because of the weight of the plant. That is why I wondered if I should chop some of them back. However, I will leave them alone and hope for the best. Thanks.

[DavidT]

Then tie them up.

[chris23005]

Then tie them up.

Yeah, well I thought about that too - but when I furtled there were so many entangled roots etc that I am not even sure that I will get a stake in!!!  Have plenty of bamboo canes though so will give it a go.

[DavidT]

Shouldn`t be any need for canes. Draw the stems together and tie them in a bunch.

[chris23005]

Just been out and tied them up to a couple of canes. They were so flopped over (they seem to have grown that way) that they would have snapped if I had tied them all together. Anyway, the repair has been done.

I did actually get away with replanting my first earlies after I had lifted them, and got a few more potatoes out of them a couple of weeks later so that is why I asked if they would benefit from being cut down. Still learning on this veggie lark! 

[DavidT]

Chris, believe me when I say you will never know it all. I`ve been veg growing for over 30 years and I`m still learning.

[Livinhope]

We are learning all the time and from each other.  We have an elderly gent (80+) with a double plot next to us.  The rest of us got caught by the late frosts, his spuds weren't around then and now they are fantastic.  I asked him on Saturday where he got the seed spuds,  (Wilkinsons), the rest of us bought from the various top name seed suppliers and our spuds are quite pathetic.  His shot up and are the best looking on the site.

His recipe for success is, plant deep, (depth of the spade), in the bottom of the hole he puts a sprinkling of growmore and then earths up directly they start to appear.  Next year in deference to his age and experience our potatoes will be dealt with in exactly the same way and will come from the same source.  Respect.

[greenhead]

Interesting post - I would like to ask another if I may.  I am growing Latona (first early), they have been in for 2 Months and are now flowering, In theory I should harvest in about 2 weeks (10 -12 weeks) or should I wait until the flowers drop.  Furtled about 2 weeks ago and the spuds were as big as marbles.

[DavidT]

If you haven`t been watering, I would suggest you take the flowers off and let the plants grow on for another 4 weeks.

[Togalosh]

Hello..

..talking of potato foilage> can I also ask a question ?

.. my leaves are massive compared to last year (my 1st year) & especially compared with my neighbours (easily over 2ft high). I have not earthed up as I was short of space & planted them close.

I dodged the frost (which hit a lot of plots) by covering all with straw which worked a treat.

My question is  - is this a good thing - a sign of a bumper crop..or the opposite - all leaves mean no spuds??

Both earlies & mains are flowering at the same time too... should I have delayed main crop planting?

[kingdhesiii]

If you haven`t been watering, I would suggest you take the flowers off and let the plants grow on for another 4 weeks.

But not overwater. This just results in lush top growth even more.

[chris23005]

If you haven`t been watering, I would suggest you take the flowers off and let the plants grow on for another 4 weeks.

But not overwater. This just results in lush top growth even more.

Ah! I wonder if mine have had too much water and that is why there is such a lot of foliage? Although they were never sodden, I always just watered to ensure that the compost didn't dry out. This year I planted my potatoes in bags according to the instructions and the potatoes were planted 1/3 up from the bottom with a layer of compost and then I just topped up the compost every time the leaves broke through the surface. We also dodged the frosts - none of them got hit. And, ahem, I also planted all my potatoes at the same time which may be the other reason that the foliage is now too tall as they are getting a longer growing season. You live and learn don't you?  

edited to add: finally managed to access the potato database and the height of my potatoes is described as "tall" - so maybe they are just meant to be gigantic then!!! 

[kingdhesiii]

If you haven`t been watering, I would suggest you take the flowers off and let the plants grow on for another 4 weeks.

But not overwater. This just results in lush top growth even more.

Ah! I wonder if mine have had too much water and that is why there is such a lot of foliage? Although they were never sodden, I always just watered to ensure that the compost didn't dry out. This year I planted my potatoes in bags according to the instructions and the potatoes were planted 1/3 up from the bottom with a layer of compost and then I just topped up the compost every time the leaves broke through the surface. We also dodged the frosts - none of them got hit. And, ahem, I also planted all my potatoes at the same time which may be the other reason that the foliage is now too tall as they are getting a longer growing season. You live and learn don't you?  

edited to add: finally managed to access the potato database and the height of my potatoes is described as "tall" - so maybe they are just meant to be gigantic then!!! 

Couldbe a lot of things. What fertilzer did you use if you did. One with a high nitrogen content would also cause lush tops.