First earlies

bellyshere

Hi folks. My first earlies still haven't flowered. I'm right in thinking i have to wait until they have before harvesting?

JennyJ

Mine haven't flowered yet either. I think I'm going to tip out one of the bags and see what's what. Could do with some tatties for tonight and I can't be bothered to go to the shops.

Dovefromabove

Some varieties don’t flower. What sort are they?

Dont tip them out … gently reach in the soil underneath and have a bit of a ferret around. If they feel the size of a hens egg then dig them up. If not leave them and give them a bit more water. 

bellyshere

Dovefromabove said:

Some varieties don’t flower. What sort are they?

Dont tip them out … gently reach in the soil underneath and have a bit of a ferret around. If they feel the size of a hens egg then dig them up. If not leave them and give them a bit more water. 

Pentland Javelin and Sharpe's express where the two first earlies i put in.

Dovefromabove

They usually flower … it’s a long time since I grew either but I seem to remember PJ taking a bit longer for the potatoes to grow to a decent size than other earlies, so I think I’d check out the Sharpes Express first. 😊 

JennyJ

Mine are Accent, which can apparently be harvested as an early or left longer. Will go out in a bit and have a look/feel.

Skandi

For earlies don't worry about flowers, I grow a type called Solist this year I planted 30kg, only about 1 in 5 plants have flowered but the potatoes are already way to large for "earlies"

As Dove says just have a bit of a dig around and see what size they are down there.

JennyJ

Mine had produced several potatoes that were pretty big for new potatoes and some nice small ones as well.

Penny_Forthem

I have grown Swift and Rocket and they haven't flowered either. Someone told me, knowledgeably, that 'the potatoes form after the flowers'. I was going to put him right, but somehow, he knew he was right!! 

bellyshere

Thanks folks. I’m going to have a root tonight. 

JennyJ

For comparison I'll leave the other bags for a few more weeks. I'd rather have more small potatoes than the big ones getting bigger, but maybe I need a different variety for that. Any suggestions?