In SW Virginia we pulled our potatoes two weeks ago after a very early start (for us) in March. They could have stayed in the ground longer, but voles were coming 'round and with those guys it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, you can use that space to plant something else, another reason not to mess around with potato harvest and bring those babies in.

Wayne5 and Edweather..Yes I planted the sweet potato in real soil. I don't know what fake soil is. (seriously I don't) When I started it in the very beginning, it was just a wal mart sweet potato that I layed horizontally in a pot and placed Miracle Grow potting soil around it until half the potato was covered. Once the potato had vines 2 inches long I cut those "the slips" with the eye part and transplanted it into our vegi garden where we grow all our other vegetables. sunnibell7, I did let the plant get really viney...(or a lot of vines on it taking over the ground area of the garden.) I didn't know not to. Like I said this is our first year to try this. foolishpleasure, wow that is huge! Sunnibell what are voles? Do you mean Moles? Or Golphers? So to recap what all of you are saying...Wait, give it more time harvest them in October. And lift the vines so they do not root into the soil. Am I correct here?

Potatoes will eventually die back once they are ready for harvest. If all the foliage has died, then it's time to dump them out and see what you have. I wouldn't worry that your potatoes haven't flowered. Lots of people have written about experiences like that. The best way to determine if it's time to harvest is to wait for all the leaves to die back. If they no longer have leaves, they are no longer photosynthesizing and won't grow anymore. It's time to dig them up or dump them out. As for the sunlight question, sunlight will turn potatoes green if left exposed for too long. This makes those portions mildly toxic. You didn't hurt it by briefly uncovering one. Sunlight wouldn't rot them in the way you describe. The fact that the potato was rotting and smelly so quickly may be due to a drainage issue. Perhaps the drainage holes were blocked and the potato rotted and roots are dying due to standing water. I water potatoes regularly until I start to see the foliage die back by about half. After that I let them dry down a little when harvest looks to be a few days away. Yes, you can check to see if potatoes are growing in the bag. I grow mine in containers and I poke my fingers in close to the stalk to see what I can find. Try to be delicate though. You don't want to damage too many roots. Lots of people also like to harvest new potatoes by reaching under and grabbing a few tiny potatoes from each plant, leaving the rest to grow to their full potential. Keep us posted on how things turn out. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: Kim's Garden

I don't think it is moisture. These problems definitely look like disease. I couldn't attach the other photos, but three of the four plants have yellow-brown areas that look like a blight. I'm having a bad garden year with lots of blight and viruses on tomatoes and beans too. Ugh! Depressing.