I have 'Charlotte' and 'Pink Fir Apple' potatoes growing in bags. They were
planted around mid April. They are not flowering yet, but the bags are now
full to the brim with compost, and the foliage is at least three foot above
the tops of the bags. I am thinking that the foliage looks very leggy, as
there a large gaps between the leaf nodes. I have two questions, will they
be ready to lift now or should I wait until they flower, and do they need to
be moved somewhere where there is more light, (they currently get sun in the
afternoon only). This is my first time growing potatoes in bags, and I
notice all the potatoes in local farms around me are much more compact
plants, maybe I should not look to commercial potatoes as a guide?
Gardening on the north side of the cheviots, (Scottish Borders).
Thanks

On Jun 16, 10:33*pm, "Flowerpotgirl" wrote:
I have 'Charlotte' and 'Pink Fir Apple' potatoes growing in bags. They were
planted around mid April. They are not flowering yet, but the bags are now
full to the brim with compost, and the foliage is at least three foot above
the tops of the bags. I am thinking that the foliage looks very leggy, as
there a large gaps between the leaf nodes. I have two questions, will they
be ready to lift now or should I wait until they flower, and do they need to
be moved somewhere where there is more light, (they currently get sun in the
afternoon only). This is my first time growing potatoes in bags, and I
notice all the potatoes in local farms around me are much more compact
plants, maybe I should not look to commercial potatoes as a guide?
Gardening on the north side of the cheviots, (Scottish Borders).
Thanks

Most plants go leggy in dim light conditions. Have a dig around & see
what you can find, you don't have to yank the whole plant up.

I have grown spuds in bags for a number of years.
When I first start off, I roll the bag down untill the shaws appear and they grow up quite a few inches, I then roll the bag up a bit and fill up with more compost covering the shaws leaving just a little bit showing. I keep doing this until the bag is full and I normally don't have a problem.
The first year I grew potatoes I forgot to roll the bag down and I too had leggy foliage, I think this was because it kept looking for the light at the end of a big bag. Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree with this advice but I just thought I would pass on my experience with bags of potatoes. :-)