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I planted my potatoes on march 24th in bags they seem to have done really well and are very big now..my question is how do I know if they are ready ??

Can I just pick out what I want as I want them (if that makes sense) and how long can they stay in the bag without spoiling ??

by the way they are Unwins Second earlies Elgar..do they flower ??
Thanks for the help :)

It might be a little early for your spuds still. Although it's been a while since I've grown them, so please someone correct me if I'm wrong!

I grow second earlies in bags too. I carefully dig down to check if they are ready. Do it by hand so you don't disturb it too much! If there are useable ones, you can pick them off. Carefully recover and give them a GOOD drink. They should continuing growing as long as you've been gentle enough and not distrubed the roots/shoots too much.

While the plant is still growing the potatoes will continue to grow AFAIK. I'm not sure about after the plant grows back for 2nd earlies though! I'd love to know too!

At a guess, I don't think 2nd earlies will be ready yet. Not if they were planted on March 24. I planted some earlies end Feb and they are only just ready now. I think you will need to wait until July if you want a decent crop.
If the foliage is in full swing, it's too early. Wait till it starts to change.

Your potatoes are ready when they arent going to  grow any more.

They wont grow anymore when the top foilage starts to wilt and die.

Unless you want small new potatoes.........

Quote from: aquilegia on June 16, 2010, 17:07:33
I'm not sure about after the plant grows back for 2nd earlies though!

What was I on about?  ???

I think that should read "after the plant dies back". Confusing myself now (easily done!)  ;)

The way to find out if they're ready is to have a firkle. (Roll up your sleeve and poke around with your fingers to see if you can find anything.)

If you planted them at the end of March they probably aren't ready yet. When you say, "They're really big," does that mean the foliage? If they're in bags or bins it probably means they're in some sort of decent soil, and probably decent growing conditions, so they may have put on a lot of foliage, but not much tuber. Only one way of finding out....

And bear in mind that this year is three weeks late. We started off three weeks late - and normally everything catches up - but this year we're still three weeks late.

Every year of my life, I've been eating home-grown new potatoes by my birthday on June 5th - except this year, when I still haven't been able to lift any!