June Hughes wrote:

Oh. I think mine are main crop but thought you had to wait until they
had finished flowering? I may be wrong and can't remember where the
info came from.

I've heard that too, but take the view that if they are big enough to
eat then do so; cheaper than buying new potatoes. I suppose it depends
on how many you've planted as to whether you can "waste" a few by
digging them up before they are full size. I've got more than 300 plants
so I can dig as soon as possible. The biggest chore is digging them up,
especially if the ground bakes hard, it has a lot of clay in it. I
probably won't get around to lifting the last of them until the tops
have completely died off. Trouble then is finding where to dig without
impaling some.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

In message , David in Normandy
writes
June Hughes wrote:

Oh. I think mine are main crop but thought you had to wait until
they had finished flowering? I may be wrong and can't remember where
the info came from.

I've heard that too, but take the view that if they are big enough to
eat then do so; cheaper than buying new potatoes. I suppose it depends
on how many you've planted as to whether you can "waste" a few by
digging them up before they are full size. I've got more than 300
plants so I can dig as soon as possible. The biggest chore is digging
them up, especially if the ground bakes hard, it has a lot of clay in
it. I probably won't get around to lifting the last of them until the
tops have completely died off. Trouble then is finding where to dig
without impaling some.

In my usual wimpish way, I have planted mine in buckets and one large
container about a metre high, so shall wait for a little while. The
plants extend about 2 feet above the edge of the buckets now, so there
should be plenty of potatoes when they are ready - I hope.
--
June Hughes

June Hughes wrote:
In message , David in Normandy
writes
June Hughes wrote:

Oh. I think mine are main crop but thought you had to wait until
they had finished flowering? I may be wrong and can't remember where
the info came from.

I've heard that too, but take the view that if they are big enough to
eat then do so; cheaper than buying new potatoes. I suppose it depends
on how many you've planted as to whether you can "waste" a few by
digging them up before they are full size. I've got more than 300
plants so I can dig as soon as possible. The biggest chore is digging
them up, especially if the ground bakes hard, it has a lot of clay in
it. I probably won't get around to lifting the last of them until the
tops have completely died off. Trouble then is finding where to dig
without impaling some.

In my usual wimpish way, I have planted mine in buckets and one large
container about a metre high, so shall wait for a little while. The
plants extend about 2 feet above the edge of the buckets now, so there
should be plenty of potatoes when they are ready - I hope.
I've often wondered about that method, won't the largest spuds be at the
bottom of the tub? If so that would make piecemeal harvesting vexing.

--
Please reply to group,emails to designated
address are never read.

In message , Broadback
writes
June Hughes wrote:
In message , David in
Normandy writes
June Hughes wrote:

Oh. I think mine are main crop but thought you had to wait until
they had finished flowering? I may be wrong and can't remember
where the info came from.

I've heard that too, but take the view that if they are big enough
to eat then do so; cheaper than buying new potatoes. I suppose it
depends on how many you've planted as to whether you can "waste" a
few by digging them up before they are full size. I've got more than
300 plants so I can dig as soon as possible. The biggest chore is
digging them up, especially if the ground bakes hard, it has a lot
of clay in it. I probably won't get around to lifting the last of
them until the tops have completely died off. Trouble then is
finding where to dig without impaling some.

In my usual wimpish way, I have planted mine in buckets and one large
container about a metre high, so shall wait for a little while. The
plants extend about 2 feet above the edge of the buckets now, so there
should be plenty of potatoes when they are ready - I hope.
I've often wondered about that method, won't the largest spuds be at
the bottom of the tub? If so that would make piecemeal harvesting
vexing.

I haven't tried it before but one of the bins I have has round sliding
covers very near the bottom, on the sides, so theoretically I can dig
out potatoes from the bottom. I shall let you know how it goes when the
time comes The black rubber buckets won't be so easy.
--
June Hughes

In article , David in Normandy
writes
June Hughes wrote:

Oh. I think mine are main crop but thought you had to wait until
they had finished flowering? I may be wrong and can't remember where
the info came from.

I've heard that too, but take the view that if they are big enough to
eat then do so; cheaper than buying new potatoes. I suppose it depends
on how many you've planted as to whether you can "waste" a few by
digging them up before they are full size. I've got more than 300
plants so I can dig as soon as possible. The biggest chore is digging
them up, especially if the ground bakes hard, it has a lot of clay in
it. I probably won't get around to lifting the last of them until the
tops have completely died off. Trouble then is finding where to dig
without impaling some.



Trouble is, in the last few years, this area at any rate, has suffered
blight, so presumably the quicker you can grow and eat the potatoes the
less chance you have of losing them!!

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk