Harvesting Main Crop

[pntalbot]

Planted Main Crop potatoes on 7.4.06--they are now flowering,but recently `kids`damaged Leaves, so today I dug them up and got Small but nice potatoes, will they taste ok and I suppose I treat them as Baby Potatoes, but should I have left them in the ground till August,when I`m told the flowering will drop.

[pntalbot]

[prink13]

Sorry cannot answer that question, but have asimilar one of my own:
Planted 2 varieties of pots, early APril also,

1: Whites - Maris Piper, grew to about 3 feet, lots of flowers, all falling over now, I've dug a few small (new) potatoes, but should I leave the rest or dig them too?

2: Reds - Desiree, grown to approx 2 feet tall, just started to flower, but can see pots pushing through soil in a couple of places, they are tiny - feel I should leave these in til Aug/Sept/Oct is this OK?

[tim]

pn - yes, yes, yes!!

prink - cover them up quickly! And lift as you need.

Just wait until the haulms die down.  And hope for rain before that.

[Tee Gee]

As always I'm like the cows tail .............I am always behind. ;D ::)

Here are you lot picking maincrop potatoes and theres me lifting the first root of my earlies today ???

They (Foremost) were a lovely size, clean and what I noticed most of all the ground was as dry as snuff.

According to the local met statistics we have only had a third of our normal rainfall in June, this plus the fact I never water potatoes, it is not surprising that the ground is so dry.

So once again I say it what you do to your ground prior to Xmas that is more important than what you do after planting.

Preparation! Preparation! and more Preparation!!!

[tim]

And patience, patience & more patience!!

[Tee Gee]

I agree Tim!