Too much leaf on my spuds

[Flummery]

Give them at least 12 weeks and there'll be spuds under them. I find if I can contain myself for 14 weeks - even for first earlies - I get a much more satisfactory crop.

[Mac]

Thanks for that Flummery, will try to be patient

[teakdesk]

Flummery is quite right - potatoes are just like any other crop and the tubers will be larger the longer they are growing.



But it also depends on the soil and air temperatures. This is a chart for Rocket Potatoes...



This is for an AVERAGE year weather-wise in an AVERAGE location in England.

It means if you plant them at the beginning of Feb then, in an average year if you live in average England, you can normally harvest 13 weeks later at the start of May.

However, if you plant later, when everything is warmer, they will grow quicker. So if you plant them at the end of April they could be ready in 8 weeks at the end of June.

But if you do not live in AVERAGE ENGLAND you will need to adjust these timings. If you plant on a sunny slope in Jersey they will grow much faster than on an exposed outcrop in Scotlandshire !!

And, of course, if we have a colder spring than AVERAGE they will take longer to grow.

And, (yet another and !!) if you like your salad spuds to be larger you will need to leave them longer.





I've got 20 buckets of 1st and 2nd earlies that were all planted together at the end of March. I'll have a look at the first bucket after around 10 or 11 weeks when I expect to find very small but edible salad potatoes. Next week I'll do another bucket which should be a little larger; by taking one or two buckets each week the 1st earlies should keep me going until the 2nd earlies are ready to be started in 14 to 16 weeks. I expect the last bucket of 1st earlies to be much larger than the small ones in the first bucket.

I'll also be making sure they are well watered during the last 4 weeks of growth and give them a feed of tomorite (yes, the tomato feed) 4 weeks before harvest - which will be this weekend for the 1st earlies !!!!

[Mac]

Good info teakdesk! As I live in megga exposed, up a hill, northern scotlandshire I'll enjoy my salad potatoes with my turkey!