Potato Help

[earthakitten]

Due to the high winds and heavy rain last night I checked this morning and to my horror found most of my potato plants completely flat.They were about four foot high and ready to flower. First earlies.
Will they recover. The flowers are still just in bud. Am I right in thinking that you have to wait for the flowers before you can harvest ?
Should I try to stake them up or will they still flower if I leave them flat.
Any advice gratefully received xx

[shaneystar2]

They should be fine ..they will recover ..don't panic ...It's supposed to be dry tomorrow ,this is freak weather .As soon as the sun comes out they will shoot up straight again ...after all farmers have fields full of them !
Everything is bedraggled in my garden too .. my tomato plants look really sorry for themselves .
Just to put your mind at rest ....
http://topveg.com/2007/05/14/rain-damaged-pota toes/

[earthakitten]

Thank you SS2 ... you really are a star for putting my mind at rest. We are quite new to all this so I suppose I will have to learn ...
Do you know why you have to wait for flowers and what would happen if I dug up before ? xx

[TopVeg]

Hello Earthakitten

Are your potatoes an early variety? If so, it depends how big you want them to be. You can eat them at any time. You may want to check the size to see if they are worth digging . Have a look at this to see how:
http://topveg.com/2007/05/21/are-my-early-pota toes-ready-to-harvest/

[earthakitten]

Hi TopVeg ... the link not working at the moment but I will try again tomorrow. Think it's me, been running very slow tonight !
First earlies and Jersey royals ... Didn't realise you could eat anytime. Was told in books to wait for flowers to go over , then wait two weeks.
Might just have a look if weather clears up tomorrow ... cant wait !!! xx