[aqua]

my second earlies  seem ready to flower. this will be before my first earlies (lady crystal). My pink for apples have flower buds too.

these are my first spuds ever. nothing planted before april because that is when we got the allotment. The first earlies went in about 3 days before the second.

[shokkyy]

I did have a furtle yesterday around some spuds that I think are Pentland Jav, and managed to find enough for a meal for two. One of the plants looks a bit droopy now, so I think I might have been a bit too determined around his roots. Those spuds ranged from small hen egg to duck egg size, but still no sign of any flowers, though I never really seem to notice flowers on first earlies.

[Thephoenix572]

Our rockets are beginning to flower in Derbyshire

[aqua]

apart from the fact that my spuds are planted in time order and i know they are two rows of each.

i know the first lot are lady crystal. I now am not sure what the names of our potatoes are because i have lost my planting notebook.

[Iain@JBA]

they have been in a month cant remember the type as i forgot to look at the label but they are a purple ish colored plant

If they are flowering after only 4 weeks then I would say that it it caused by the plant being stressed. Lack of water or nutrients is the common cause and the potato plant thinks it has a very short time to reproduce and goes straight into producing flowers.

[plopleuk]

i live in the north west and we have had a lot of rain here so it cant be lack of water 

[AnneB]

My second earlies (Edgecote Purple) are just starting to flower, planted 1st April, and seem to be much further on - altogether more plant etc than my first earlies (Tuskar) planted at the same time.  Will wait a couple of weeks then have a look.  I am putting it down to just a difference in how the varieties behave.

I chose to plant only earlies and go for resistant varieties to avoid the dreaded blight which mine got last year, so these varieties are all new to me.  Bit of an experiment.

[aqua]

have found my planting notebook - amazed i had the sense to start one.

[ex-cavator]

Another dumb newbie question - but - how will I know when they're ready? 

[mumofstig]

it's been asked many times 

have a look at this recent thread
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=77418.msg873283#msg873283