Potato query

[Pa Snips]

At the beginning of June I decided to tip out my bag of Kestrel spuds as the advice on the packaging stated that they required three months in the ground. I got less potato out than I had put in, despite them being 3½ feet tall, and was informed by the good people on here that I had tried to harvest them too soon.

Now, three weeks later, my Charlotte spuds are starting to flower, yet were put in 2-3 weeks later than the Kestrels so have also only been in for about three months.
Until the recent heavy rain snapped a few of the taller stalks they were roughly 4½ feet tall.

Surely they can't be ready yet if the Kestrel spuds were not!

What happens if I leave them to flower?

[Thelma Sanders]

They just carry on getting bigger potatoes, not necessarily more of them though.

[Pa Snips]

Thanks Thelma, so do I just leave them for another couple of months then?

[Thelma Sanders]

You could treat them like maincrops and just wait til the haulm(foliage) dies down, for maximum yield.
They probably won't taste like salad potatoes, which Charlottes are, by then though.

It's all a balancing act between size/taste and maximum yield.

[scarletrunner]

The 3 month guide for Kestrel means 3 months in ideal summer weather conditions,mine have been in almost 4 months,and only just started to flower!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Pa If memory serves charlotte are a second early salad spud so they will need 16 to 18 weeks in a good year.

Colin

[SarzWix]

Rather than tipping them out to find out what's grown, just stick your hand down the side of the bag and have a furtle around to see if there are any spuds ready. That way, if you only come up with marble-sized spuds, the plants can just keep growing until they're big enough to eat

[Pa Snips]

Okay, thank you all, I'll leave them a while longer then have a furtle.
I don't mind how long I leave them as long as the flowering thing isn't an issue.