Earlier in the year I was tidying out the vegetable rack at in the kitchen and found two old potatoes that had fallen down the back and sprouted, so being keen I dug a couple of holes in the garden and popped them in...
Now they've grown with nice green leaves and stuff sticking about 6 inches out of the ground. I know I need to mound up some earth over them (I'm guessing now would be a good time to do that) but other than that I've not idea what I'm doing, how do I know when they're ready? Do they flower or something?
No idea what variety they are, probably two different ones to be honest, so it'll be a surprise lol
Ha ha now that is what I call spontaneous gardening! If you haven't increased the earth around them, you can also mulch them with straw or leaves, but if you buried them quite deep (more than a spade's depth), you don't even have to do that, I have grown them very deep before and they don't go green I have found.
yes they will flower at some point, probably soon, then the leaves will wilt and the top of the plant will look like it is dying. Any time after that, you can gently dig them up - push the fork into the soil about a foot away from the plant and lever up the plant. If you stick it right in near the stem you will spear all of the spuds, which would be a shame. You will see the potatoes in the soil and just need to feel around with your hands to dig them up. Dig out a bit more soil and put it to one side to make sure you haven't missed any. I have found that you get between 6 and 10 spuds per plant, perhaps that is not correct depending on the variety?
I don't know if you can compost the plant?? anyone?
Spuds are so much fun, there is that surprise element that makes it a bit of a game. And they will taste beaut because you can eat them the day you pick them.
after mouning up after a few weeks you can also scratch around the mound carefully taking a few of the larger potato's to eat early, this way the plant keeps growing and the smaller ones get a chance to grow bigger.