I have some red pots, and some little white summer pots; I have never grown potatoes before so I'm kind of worried about when to take them up, They are bloomimg now,so where do I go from here,,the bushes are big and healthy looking do i wait for them to die back or what. thank you so much margie moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
My rule of thumb is that maincrop potatoes (which I presume yours are Margie) are harvested when the foliage has turned brown and the stems have withered. I seem to get the biggest potatoes from my plants by doing this.
Potatoes I have heard also that after the foliage wilts down you wait 2 weeks and then pull them or should I not do that? I have read alot of different things but I knew you all would know. Thank you for the help Margie
I don't wait two weeks Margie. As soon as the foliage has all died down I dig the potatoes and they seem just fine.
I start digging new potatoes when they bloom. I take what we can eat and cover the roots back and they are fine. Kind of depends on how you like your potatoes. Small boilers or larger ones.
Mine have all yellowed down and I am digging and taking them to my markets. As I dig them I am planting a new row right behind them and I will see if I can get a Fall crop, too.
I have grown potatoes before, but so far they haven't blossomed. What if they turn brown and wilty before blossoming? Do potatoes always blossom?
Have they had enough moisture ? They should but I always have a few that don`t bloom. Doesn`t mean you dont have potatoes though. Dig under and see how big they are now. Just cover up roots when your done. You can take a few if you want new potatoes for dinner.
Mart, I have tried to keep them wet enough, but due to lack of rain, maybe not. One row is quite green. Another is beginning to look pathetic. So its possible that they may not blossom?
Actually the wet end of my garden doesn`t bloom as well as the high end that stays drier. Go figure! I pay little attention to that either way. I dig and if they have potatoes I take what I want, cover the roots back and the plant continues to make potatoes.
I dug deep into one end of the potato row. In spite of the fact we have watered well, the soil was dry, and I found few potatoes. The other row looks promising.
No Mart, I don't remember the date, but I have it written in my garden journal. I bought the seed potatoes from the same man I have always bought from. I'm inclined to think its the odd weather. I appreciate your answers.
Could be weather related. We have had poor results some years. Could be poor quality seed potatoes too !! I have had better results from some suppliers than others. Not that your supplier would know this when he sold them to you. It just happens occassionally.
If it is as dry there as it is here, don't expect much. I planted 50#'s this spring and have pulled almost two rows (50' each) and have been putting them in 5 gallon buckets as I dig them and I am up to 4 bucket fulls, Which if you ask me isn't nearly as much as I would think they should have made. I have 2 rows in another garden and they look horrible compared to these two rows.
