Charlotte potatoes - when to harvest please?

[arcticwind]

This is my first foray into vegetable growing and I am not sure when / how to harvest my potatoes .

They are Charlottes and I planted them in a deep planter about 10 weeks ago; have earthed up twice and the first one is just flowering. The leaves etc are approx 18 ins above the soil level.

Any advice much appreciated

[prettybird]

When the flowers die - another few weeks yet. I have heard though that if you pick off the flowers, you encourage more energy into tuber production.

You could also try gently rootling down the side of the plant and pulling up a couple fo beautiful new potatoes - leaving the rest of the shaw to continue to develop.

[RockRose]

2 weeks after the flowers have died.

[prettybird]

Charlotte is an early potato and Carol Klein says to harvest earlies when the flowers open or the buds drop, while Sarah Raven suggests when the flowers open, the tubers are starting to form and to rummage around gently at the edges to harvest waht you need, leaving the plants to grow on and produce more and when the tops begin to die down, to tip out of the containers and collect the tubers.

I sort of split the difference. Last year, I began cropping my Belle de Fontenay (a second early or an early maincrop depending on which book you read) as when it started flowering - but only did so gently, keeping the shaws intact. I think it took me about 4 weeks to crop all four plants.