"John Savage" wrote in message
Watching the progress of a dozen potato plants I've wondered
whether it would help them grow bigger tubers if I clipped the
flowers off as soon as buds appear? Anyone tried this?

Allowing the buds to open and in some cases develop into seed pods
must surely take energy that would suit me better if it were instead
directed towards the developing spuds.

Obviously if I had a hundred plants I wouldn't bother with this,
but with only a small garden bed it is practiceable if there's a
payoff.

I've never bothered and I am from a line of 5 generations of spud growers in
Oz - God knows how many generations of spud growers in Ireland before that.
I suspect you may do better to put your energy into hilling up, mulching and
good watering instead, although you could always take the flowers off a
couple of plants and see if there is a noticeable difference in yield.