Wind damaged potato crop

[Zhris]

Hi everyone,

This is my first ever vegetable grow, and also my first ever post on this forum! Since my parents had a bunch of huge pots and things that they have never used, I decided to buy a range of seeds and start a little "potted" vegetable garden. I'm growing a range of things - carrots (orange and purple), radishes (now harvested), strawberries, tomatoes, purple tiger chillies, baby sweetcorn, brussel sprouts, mixed lettuce.

I started growing potatoes in late march, and it was all going so very well. I had put 5 bulbs evenly in a large pot, and 2 months later the plant was well on its way for a good harvest. Today has been an extremely windy day where I am (South UK). Unfortunately this has bent the stems over to 1 side, which i'm sure isn't too much of a problem as they will eventually sort themselves out. However my problem is that most of the nearly flowered flowers, have snapped off, and those that haven't are hanging on by a thread.

I really wanted to just know, how will this affect the grow, will I have to wait for the flowers to regenerate, or is it completely ruined? Also how do people go about protecting their plants that are outside, from wind?

I have another potato crop about 7 weeks behind the other, which is inevitably nowhere near as developed. I hope to ensure that one remains perfect!

Thanks alot,

Chris

[Hammer]

Hi Zhris,
I would,nt worry too much, they should recover and will also re-shoot more foliage, i think they,ll be O.K. Probably set them back a bit timewise.
Regards Hammer

[Zhris]

Hi Hammer,

Glad to hear they should recover, shame that they might be set back now. I had cared for them so well, even "watching them grow" for atleast an hour every day hehe. I'm really looking forward to harvesting them, I have only eaten freshly picked potatoes once in my life, and they were incredibly flavourful, mmm.

Chris

[Hammer]

Zhris,
Give them a good feed and cut off any of the foliage that dies off as a result of the damage and you can do no more.
Hammer

[DaveB]

Don't worry about the flowers, it doesn,t matter if they never flower at all, all you have to do is keep the foliage alive. Dave.

[Zhris]

Hey,

Hammer: Alright, i'll feed it tomorrow morning, thanks.

Dave: Thank you, I wasn't sure if flowering had a significant importance.

Chris

[Thomas W]

Originally Posted by Zhris

... I wasn't sure if flowering had a significant importance.

Only if you want to save the seeds for a future crop
I usually start digging up the first potatoes a week or two after the flowers appear.

And by the way, check out this new type of pot I just found on the net: http://combipot.dk/upload_dir/news/C...toes_DE-10.png
(actually two pots, an open pot placed inside a closed pot)
http://www.havenyt.dk/images/upload/...er_dsc9835.jpg