Spud question

[bikegirllisa]

I planted Cara in April, and the plants are huge and now flowering.

I think once they've flowered, we should dig em up, get the oven on and the butter out.  Him Indoors says we should wait till the haulms die off.

I fully expect to be wrong on this one, but am I?

As usual, thanks for your patience with my daft questions.  ;)

[bikegirllisa]

[goodlife]

well you are both right..and wrong.. ;D
You can wait till the haulms die off..but don't have to. Usually flowering is sign that the spuds are forming...so you could carefully dig one plant out and see if they are edible size...if so..just dig what you are going to eat untill next trip to lottie and leave rest to grow on...longer they stay put bigger/more the potatoes. When the tubers don't grow anymore or tops will die off = plants have done all they can.

[Bugloss2009]

well since Cara is a Main Crop, it'll probably get blight before the haulms die down naturally anyway  :) have a rummage around a root, and if the tubers are a reasonable size then it's Potatoes O'clock, as Harry Hill nearly said

[Fork]

Then there is also the theory that if you remove the flowers you get a better yield of potato!

Not tried it yet and anyway,there would be a load of other factors involved if you did try it.Growing conditions etc etc etc....the list goes on.

Think I will just stick to waiting until the haulms begin to die back whether that be naturally or with the blight.

[davyw1]

Removing the flowers from the potato plant is exactly the same as dead heading (removing the growing tip) from a flower you are trying to force side shoots away but tests showed the extra percentage was very low 5% i think.
I alwaysd wait at least a couple of weeks after the flowers have died off before digging in, you are just robbing your spuds if you dig them up to early.
With my earlies i lift the plant with a shovel take of the biggest  clear out the hole from where it came and put the potato plant back with all the small potatoes still attached to the plant cover it and water to let the plant grow on. Providing the small potatoes are athached to the plant they will grow on and get bigger

[pumkinlover]

I remember Bob Flowerdew (have I mentioned him before :-*)! saying a 10% increase in yield if you remove the flowers. I do try!

[shirlton]

We tried removing the flowers on only half of the spuds last year and we didn't notice any great difference

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm keeping flowers on mine as I want the seeds.

[goodlife]

Code Select Expand

I'm keeping flowers on mine as I want the seeds Did the 'bug' bite you too? ;D I keep looking in hope amongst the plants.. ;D
After reading the posts about Jayb and others growing TPS..I want to have a go of that too.. ;D

[brown thumb]

i use my hand fork to move  some soil a way and rob out enough spuds(  i should say my own spuds i case ppl think i go round robbing other llottys  lol  ::))  that will keep me going for a couple of days unless i need the space 8)

[cornykev]

Last year I planted my Cara on the 12th of April and dug them up on the 13th of September
I'm sure I could have them up before then, but with Holidays and digging up the Kestrels they stayed in a bit longer
Mains should in my opinion be left until the foilage has died down, but if you have a firckle and take a few spuds from each plant now you should get a few meals, but they should stay in for 16+ weeks.
Flowers should be left be, as it makes no difference what so ever, but everyone has different ideas and ways, it would be a boring place if we all had the same ideas.   ;D ;D ;D

[Digeroo]

I had heard you were supposed to remove the flowers but some of them are so pretty  Mayan gold are purple, Blue Danube very blue, and highland Burgundy very pure white.  Have seen a red one, but no idea of the variety.  I think the lottie would be rather dull without them.

[brown thumb]

oooh did you beg a potatoe of the red flowered spud :'(

[chriscross1966]

If you want to grow for TPS you might well do a reverse potamo... ie grwft a potato top onto a tomato root.....done it the other way and got a ridiculously hungry plant that produced a few spuds adn a few tomztoes....