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Yellow[_3_] · 02-06-2017, 05:43 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 2 Jun 2017 12:24:21 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote:

On 02/06/2017 12:21, Muddymike wrote:
On 02/06/2017 11:19, Yellow wrote:
I am growing charlotte potatoes in 11 litre bags on my patio, from
Gardener's World magazine offer, and on the face of it they are doing
really well. But how do I know when they are ready to harvest?

The green part of the plant above the soil is growing vigorously, and is
getting higher every day.

Thanks for any help and advice.

When the tops start to die off.

Though if you don't mind not having maximum yield you will have some
smaller potatoes from about the time the first flowers are fruiting.
They get bigger and more of them the longer you let them grow.

I prefer fresh new potatoes to maximum possible weight of crop so always
dig some up for this reason as soon as they are available.

I know nothing about growing spuds, but shouldn't the OP be earthing
them up to increase the yield (assuming there's room in his bags)

Not according to the instructions and also because an 11 litre bag is
just not big enough. The bag is filled with compost right to the top and
then the seed potato is pushed into the middle.

Thompson and Morgan, who supplied the kit, state that their tests show
that this method, with small bags and no earthing up, produces the most
potatoes.

and
perhaps spraying against blight every so often? Or don't amateurs
worry about those sorts of things (I know my farmer-neighbour sprays
his fields of spuds regularly at about this time)?

I don't know what blight looks like, but the greenery at least is all
looking bushy and healthy.