Large Potato Plants - WHY?

Large Potato Plants - WHY?

Although the potato plants are beautiful, is this NOT a braggart? - rather an expression of a certain wonder. For such tall potatoes I have never had before.

These are hidden potatoes, i.a. Ditta, which is laid on April 5th just like I pretty much usually do. They have not received more fertilizer than usual (Ditta not at all), have been watered normally and have had plastic left over until there was no longer a risk of night frost - also as normal. Perhaps just with the difference that the plastic has been on for a bit longer due to the late frosty nights in May, and where the superstructure of the bed just allows to cover with plastic rather than non-woven fabric, when the plants have reached a certain height in May.

Normally, such tall plants would be signs of eutrophication or drift with lots of top but no tubers below.

This does not seem to be the case here, as the "index finger test" reveals potatoes just below the surface the size of chicken eggs - and then there are still approx. a month of growth until I usually harvest such a bed due to incipient mold.

Either way, it has been necessary to put the trellis net on the sides to prevent the plants from tipping over all over. Another similar bed of late potatoes at the opposite end of the kitchen garden looks the same way where the plants must also be barred inside.

If the harvest should also turn out to be abnormally large, you can then go and wonder what it is due to - it could be that next year you wanted to repeat it. The worst thing about both what succeeds and what fails is not knowing WHY!

Written by Peter Norris