Potato puzzle

[MikePhillips]

Help please...Earlier this year I purchased seed potatos from a reputable garden centre. Around 18 Kestrel second earlies, and 6 Desiree main crop for my small patch. I chitted and labelled these and planted them as normal. Both have grown well with lots of top growth, in fact much more on the Kestrel. Now the puzzle. No flowers have appeared on the Kestrel rows yet, but there are copious flowers on the Desiree row. I tried digging one of the Kestrel plants, and got nothing at all! Thinking things must have somehow got confused by me or the shop, I dug one of the flowering Desiree plants. This produced about six modest PINK potatos. So what's going on? The pink spuds look like rather immature Desiree ones due to the colour. The Kestrel ones should not be pink! I have pictures but cannot se how to attach them att he moment. Any help much appreciated! Thanks,
Mike

[bramble]

Not all potatoes produce flowers.
Also the foliage on some varieties grow taller than others.
Have a Google on the varieties you have sown and you will get more information.
When did you plant your potato crop?

[burnie]

Not sure where you are in the country, but my tatties aren't ready yet

[veggiechicken]

Hi Mike and welcome.
The AHDB potato database has information on both varieties

Varieties

Varieties

Does the colour of the flowers help to confirm that they are Desiree?

Perhaps you're digging them too soon?

[nickdub]

What the labels say in stuff you buy and what it actually is, are sometimes not the same.

[MikePhillips]

The AHDB potato database has information on both varieties

Varieties

Varieties

Does the colour of the flowers help to confirm that they are Desiree?

Perhaps you're digging them too soon?

Many thanks. The link confirms the Desiree row is what it was supposed to be. Right colour, and correct flowers. So yes, dug too soon of course. (only because I though the varieties got mixed up, and that these were perhaps the Kestrel ones). No flowers yet on the others (supposed to be Kestrel) but no spuds found when one dug yesterday. I live near Bath. End of June too early for second earlies??
Foliage height of Kestral given as medium, same as Desiree. My "Kestrel" are MUCH taller!

[MikePhillips]

Not all potatoes produce flowers.
Also the foliage on some varieties grow taller than others.
Have a Google on the varieties you have sown and you will get more information.
When did you plant your potato crop?

Thanks for the response. Spuds went in on Easter Monday. I live near Bath. See later reply in this topic.

[burnie]

I tend not to grow earlies as I am too far north really, so my main crops tend to be left until the tops start wilting, those for keeping are left in the ground to harden them, they then store better.

[Snadger]

Kestrel potatoes have pink eyes. I used to grow kestrel(for slug resistance) but even though they are listed as second earlies I treated them as main crop and allowed the tops to die off before lifting. Some tatties don't flower so I wouldn't worry about that. In my area it is still way to early to be lifting second earlies or maincrops, and earlies for that matter.

[Mr Bones]

Hi Mike and welcome to the Vine. Lots of leaf may indicate you have nitrogen rich soil, (nothing to worry about). When did you plant the seed spuds, my Kestrels went in mid-March but I'm not expecting them to be ready until mid-July.

[Snoop Puss]

If you put them in at Easter, it's much too early to be harvesting them now. The info I've found suggests Kestrel take 15 to 17 weeks from planting to harvest. If you've found on a website they'll be ready from June onwards, that will be for people who planted them much earlier.

Leave them be and you'll get a harvest, albeit later than you hoped.

[MikePhillips]

If you put them in at Easter, it's much too early to be harvesting them now. The info I've found suggests Kestrel take 15 to 17 weeks from planting to harvest. If you've found on a website they'll be ready from June onwards, that will be for people who planted them much earlier.

Leave them be and you'll get a harvest, albeit later than you hoped.

Hi, many thanks for the advice, which agrees with other replies. (Thanks to others too!). Looks like the end of July then. My first attempt with Kestrels. I've grown Wilja up to now, and they have been ready around now in the past, planting around the same time. Looks like I was lucky.

[MikePhillips]

Hi Mike and welcome to the Vine. Lots of leaf may indicate you have nitrogen rich soil, (nothing to worry about). When did you plant the seed spuds, my Kestrels went in mid-March but I'm not expecting them to be ready until mid-July.

Hi, many thanks for this. Yes, other replies are saying the same so I was being too hopefult, too early!

[MikePhillips]

Kestrel potatoes have pink eyes. I used to grow kestrel(for slug resistance) but even though they are listed as second earlies I treated them as main crop and allowed the tops to die off before lifting. Some tatties don't flower so I wouldn't worry about that. In my area it is still way to early to be lifting second earlies or maincrops, and earlies for that matter.

Hi, many thanks for the advice. Yes, I'm getting the same replies all round, so I'll learn to be more patient!

[veggiechicken]

One year, I planted a couple of spuds in a clear carrier bag inside a bucket, at the same time as I planted out the spuds. I could lift up the bag and see if there were any spuds without disturbing the row.
If you're impatient, like me, it really helps.