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.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

g'day john,

i'm no expert either mate, but i am of the same school of thought that
would suggest that if a plant is putting energy into flower growing
then that is energy not going someplace else hey?

all the eggsperts say that when you first plant a fruit tree you must
pick off the flowers of the first season so it puts all energy into
setting the root system etc.,. and the herb eggsperts will also tell
you that if you want high oils in you herbs for better flavour that
you should trim off an flowers so ther ya go hey?

so why not with a plant that is growing tubers??

my experience is that if let go to flower i have never gotten a good
haul of spuds at harvest time.

there is no doubt going to be lots of other variables when growing
plants so reckon maybe nothing can be caste in cement hey? that's the
joys of gardeneing working out what works for each of us in our
gardens.

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:12:38 +0000 (UTC), John Savage
wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

John Savage wrote:

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.

If you've never grown spuds before, I'd suggest watching and see what
happens. The big growers don't do it, so that tells you something.

Aka, you probably would not notice the difference, if any.

"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.

Terryc writes:
John Savage wrote:
If you've never grown spuds before, I'd suggest watching and see what
happens. The big growers don't do it, so that tells you something.

It tells me that Woolies and Coles supermarkets want all medium-sized
potatoes!

Aka, you probably would not notice the difference, if any.

That's my feeling.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)