Potatoes flowering!?

[vette-kid]

My aderondack blue is beginning to flower already! The plants look healthy, but should they be flowering so soon? Seems pretty early and I'm worried they have had enough time to develop a good crop of tubers. Am I concerned about nothing? Seems I've heard that tuber production slows down after flowering.

 

[Meadowlark]

When did you plant the "seeds"?

I always start mine Valentines day and mine are currently blooming also and have lots of small tubers.

These can be "robbed" for early treats but in so doing you do reduce the total production. Its very hard to judge production by the plants above ground...its what is going on below ground that really counts. Some years I've seen poor production from terrific above ground plants. This year looks like excellent production judging by the robberies I've done.

I generally start harvesting for real after mid-May and for sure get them all out of the ground by Memorial Day or face significant rotting. I'm anxiously waiting for harvest.

 

[Meadowlark]

Well I couldn't resist any longer...had to have some new potatoes... especially after this thread. If left alone for the next three weeks or so, these would probably triple in size but these won't get that opportunity.

 

[vette-kid]

Thanks for the info! I did a few sweet potatoes last year, but started late. The is my first year for these. I'm going to hold off and see what happens.

 

[vette-kid]

Thinking about this some more, if these are done growing in the next month, I may be able to get two harvests a year. Plant in March and again in June/July?

 

[Meadowlark]

The temps, especially night time temps, are too hot here in June, July, August, and most of Sept. Sometimes you can plant in Sept. and make a crop before freeze but mine fail 95% of the time. Not worth it to me.

 

[headfullofbees]

I know that I'm getting less than I could by leaving them, but getting home grown potatoes in spring, when the shop-bought are either rubbish or extortionately priced, is a rare treat.

 

[roadrunner]

I noticed that I also have some potato plants starting to flower, but I don't plant seeds, I simply bury cuttings that are in my kitchen-waste bucket. I actually harvested a couple potatoes last night to eat with my asparagus....it was good