First early potatoes top heavy

The folliage for my first earlies has got so big its fallen over with the weight. This means slugs are chomping away at the leaves.

I have two questions
1 - will the slugs move down to the spuds too?

2 - is it worth trimming the stalks back a bit to make the space neater?

Theyre in potato bags if that makes any difference.

The bad winds damaged the stalks just as flower buds looked as if they were appearing so there has been no flowering and I have no idea whether there ever will be.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

I`d be inclined to check whether the spuds are ready for eating and sod the slugs.:D:D

 

I did just that. Slugs were in the top of the soil and so I decided to go for it. Small yield but decent sized potatoes.

Not sure how to ensure I get more next time. Looking at getting some christmas potatoes and would like a better yield for then.

 

Rather than try to harvest spuds at Christmas, I would plant tubers in the next couple of weeks, grow them until the spuds are big enough to eat, then store in dry peat or horticultural sand. The peat or sand needs to be bone dry though.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about your yield of spuds this year, it seems to have been a common trend with earlies; probably due to the long dry spells through March and April, as long as what you have got are tasty :D that's all that matters. Mine were the same, excellent quality, just not as many as last year..

I've got some more in now and with the wetter weather at least they're getting a good start..:thumb: