The information you have here is helpful, but what i need to know is the average growing time to harvest please. The plants are flowering and I'm wondering if that is an indication? We live on the Sunshine Coast and the potato's were planted in October, 7 months ago.
In Qld we plant potatoes in Autumn and Spring. St Patrick's Day is the general start time March 17th for Autumn. Spring is probably Sept. They take 12-20 weeks to grow - probably the warmer the climate the quicker. You can pick potatoes any time but to have mature spuds to store for awhile you wait until they flower and then start to die off. Have a little feel around to see how big they are.
I was talking to a friend today who planted certified potatoes about 8 weeks ago (the last of the hot summer weather) in sandy soil. The last ones to shoot out of the soil had stunted curled up leaves - like the leaves had not unfolded and grown bigger. He took them to a commercial grower to find out why. This fellow said it happened because the soil was too hot. Being sandy loam it probably retained the heat more in the soil. Out of about 35 potatoes about 8 had this problem. The commercial grower has only just planted his crop - Bundaberg Qld. He waits until the potatoes eyes start to shoot and then plants. Hope that helps.
Potatoes can take 14 - 20 weeks, when the tops die down to be ready for long-storage harvest. 'New' potatoes can be harvested about 4 weeks after flowering. These potatoes should be 'raided' without disturbing the plant too much so that others can mature.
This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department.
The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.