kay wrote in news:kay.86ece16
@gardenbanter.co.uk:


'Baz[_3_ Wrote:
;926885']
What I mean is lift all the spuds from the root. including tiny ones, as

they will volunteer next year. Re-plant the parent where it was
harvested
and it will start again without using fresh space intended for other
things.


I wouldn't have thought there was anything significant in using the
parent rather than any of the "offspring". I can see that a large parent
might grow more quickly into a larger plant than one of the tiny
potatoes, but I cannot see there'd be any difference between using a
parent or a similar sized offspring. They're all part of the same plant.




kay,
The offspring will grow NEXT year, the parent seed potato will give a
second crop THIS year. Starting a new "brood" if that makes any sense.

You might be asking yourself why would one want to do this.
The answer is that we all like new spuds as early as we can get them and we
are really digging up an immature plant with lots of immature small
potatoes which could grow larger but are of not much use.(I will post a use
for them later on in the year) but there are a few larger ones which are
useable in the kitchen. If the parent is in good condition, plant it again
and new potatoes will grow from it over this summer and maybe autumn.

I hope I have made my point a bit clearer.(my bad not yours)
Baz