Potatoes finishing early this year? Anyone else? Or is it my husbandry skills?

[Life is Good!]

I know it's a wierd drought/no rain/too much sun kind of summer. That's obvious. (I'm in Chicagoland).

However, our potato plants are seeming to start to go dormant on me. Yesterday's deep soaking watering session and the plants were green and bushy and doing well. Today's deep watering session and the lower leaves are dried and gone and the remaining leaves are turning "crispy" around the edges.

Sunburned? Not enough water? Too much water at the wrong time of day? (I water both in the early a.m. and just after dinner when the sun isn't so strong as to fry me completely)

Anyone have an idea? Is this happening where you are as well?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Depends on the variety, when you planted them, etc. An early red potato like a Pontiac, planted in early April, is finishing up. Did they blossom 3 or 4 weeks ago?

 

[Life is Good!]

Variety is "Red Norland" planted end of March in northern Illinois. Since the spring was so warm, I took advantage of the earlier weather. Last year's crop planted just 3wks later, did not mature until mid-late September. So this seems very very early to me. I suspect blossom was just two weeks ago (just before the heat hit), as that's when the neighbor's bees were all over them. I still think it's a bit early...

I really need to keep more documentation on what I plant, date planted and date harvested....that would help my brain some!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Well, obviously, as you know, when the vines die and dry off, there's nothing more "happening". You said it. That has been a strange and brutal year all the way around. We normally harvest a return of 10 to 1. 10 lbs of harvest for each pound of feed planted. I'd be delighted with a 5 or 6 to 1 harvest this year.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

At least you are getting something. Our potatoes were planted too late, the heat hit too early....

Be lucky to get anything here.

At least some of the other garden stuff done ok.

 

[Daisy8s]

I have a whole mess of volunteer potatoes that are already flowering and will finish up about a month before the potatoes I planted. (And, yes, I know I shouldn't let potatoes go two years in a row in the same soil but when they started sprouting and I realized how many I missed digging up last year it made me so mad I wanted to get something from those darn taters so I left them to produce this year!)

Funny story--when I started digging them last year our little terrier puppy came over, sniffed the pile of freshly dug potatoes and started digging. She was amazing! She found tons of potatoes I was missing. All I had to do was put my hand behind her back legs and wait for her to shoot out another potato--easiest digging I've ever done. And, about the only time she has ever been helpful in the garden!

Of course now I see that even she missed a bunch because it looks like nearly the whole plot volunteered. Maybe she didn't dig deep enough or get to the sides of each nest?

 

[franklinstreetwest]

Southern Michigan here. Had taters in mid-April, All Blue, Yukon Gold & Red Chieftan. Yukon Gold went dormant first, about a a week ago. Red is going dormant now. Both the All Blue that I planted AND the volunteers are green and growin strong. They are a VERY LATE potato for me though. This is my third year trying to increase my seed stock and harvest...they are always the very last to get harvested.