Potatoes (again-sorry!)

This is my first year of growing my own and I'm growing kestrel potatoes which I planted mid February in a "potato bag" rolled down.  Since then I have been earthing up until the bag is full.  There is about 2ft of soil and 1.5ft of foliage which all looks really healthy.  I've had a little forage around (about 8 -10 inches down) and there isn't even a hint of a potato!! Am I doing something wrong or just being impatient?  The plants are not flowering either!

2nd early-you are being impatient -about another month or so

ok sotongeoff, if I planted mine at the end of April, when will I get my spuds, I have 3 different varieties, mine also have no flowers but they do look healthy

Thank you! (and for the quick response!).  How long should I leave them for the main crop?

Loz-it depends on varieties,earlies mature first second earlies next then maincrop last-sounds obvious but you can plant them all at the same time but they mature at different rates and times

I know I'm going to sound dumb now and I apologise in advance but I'm not sure what earlies, second earlies and maincrop are....does it mean new potatoes first then inbetweeners then old potatoes from the same plant?

Not really-there are 3 main types and lots of varieties, what variety you grow will fit into one of the types-so you can start them all of at the same time but some take longer to mature for example- early rocket,2nd early kestrel, maincrop king edward

This probably explains it better than I can

http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/the-potato/potato-varieties/

Once again....thank you, bedtime reading me thinks

Just make sure your spuds are well watered and certainly this applies more to containers.....dont panic if it seems there are no spuds growing,keep well watered and check again in a few weeks....after all,its pretty early yet!!

Extra water?!! If your weather is anything like ours, that won't be a problem!

On GW last Friday. Monty said there wasn't much need for water until the plants are in flower. I grow Charlotte (second earlies) which are usually just about ready by now, but they're very slow this year. Their flowers often fall off soon after aqppearing, but by then the potatoes are well formed. This year there are only a couple with flowers on so far. I'm hoping that the last week of rain will be plumping them up now.

If they are in bags they need extra water ESPECIALLY when in flower Mrs S

I heard somewhere that when the flowers appear you should then cut storks back to ground and let potatoes grow for a further 2 weeks before digging up - to give the potatoes extra growing power without having to put energies into the storks and flowers.  Is this right? (hopefully this is a confused emotion and not anything else!)

It is the leaves that feed the tubers -so no you do not cut them off

OK, one less job to do!

@Julie J, with main crop potatoes the shaws/haulms/storks are sometimes cut off if blight is spotted. You wait the fortnight before you lift, to let the blight spores die off. With new potatoes if they are the size of a small egg; we have tatties for tea !

Kestrel can be left for 20 weeks if desired,at which time they will have produced some quite large Potatoes which are ideal for baking.