First Early Potato Harvest

[Artisan]

I read that first early potatoes are possibly ready for harvest when the plant flowers. Can someone tell me if you have to wait until the flower has died and dropped or can you harvest just after the flowers have opened?

The variety I have is Arran Pilot.

[nickdub]

Have a gentle poke around in the soil with your fingers and find any that you think are worth harvesting - if you are careful you can take some tubers and leave the rest of the plant to go on growing.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I prefer to work on time in the ground and weather rather than flowering.

[Jungle Jane]

Leave them till the leaves start dying down,they can be in flower for a few weeks or something. I read a study that said pinching off the flowers improves yield so I did that last year & it seemed a good yield but I also planted by the moon so I don’t know,but it’s worth doing again.

[It never rains..it pours]

Like Nickdub says have a careful dig down by hand, have taken about 1 kg off 2 Arron pilot planted early in a tub from the sides, left smalls to grow on and no idea what is under the plants yet. They were both on flower

[Artisan]

Have a gentle poke around in the soil with your fingers and find any that you think are worth harvesting - if you are careful you can take some tubers and leave the rest of the plant to go on growing.

Thanks. I'll have a poke around tomorrow.

[magicmarigold]

Ive grown some of mine in plastic bags in buckets this year (yes I saw it on YouTube, my favourite gardening channel!) So I had a peak at one of my earlier buckets as they are starting flower. They are definitely not ready!! Could see a few on the edges the size of a broad bean, I'm hoping they will get bigger...

[bramble]

Artisan. I am also growing Arran Pilot as well this year.
Mine are in flower but the foliage is still very green.
If my memory serves me correctly they were planted out in the middle of March.
I won't be lifting mine for another few weeks.

[chris_m]

Not all first earlies flower, my Sharpe's Express haven't but my maincrops are starting to flower - not sure which ones because the label is tied to the tub handle and I can't see it for all the foliage in the windbreak enclosure I put around all the tubs. I might stick long canes in the centres of the tubs next year, partly for something on which to tie the label and partly so I know precisely where to supply the water.

I had a little furtle under one side of one of the Sharpe's tubs (I know which tubs they are without needing to find the label) the other day and got a reasonable potful of very tasty spuds. That said, I'm leaving the rest at least another week because my "target" date is June 1st for 12 weeks of growth.

[Artisan]

Ive grown some of mine in plastic bags in buckets this year (yes I saw it on YouTube, my favourite gardening channel!) So I had a peak at one of my earlier buckets as they are starting flower. They are definitely not ready!! Could see a few on the edges the size of a broad bean, I'm hoping they will get bigger...

Thank you for the information.