gardening help please?

[maypole]

I have just come home from work & have been growning pink fir apple potatos in potato bags they have got quite big & I know that you are meant to let the leaves start to die off before digging them up but my husband who thought he was being helpful has cut the leaves back to the ground & now I am worried that they are ruined as the leaves which have started to die a bit where still quiet green have been totally cut back. Does that mean I can't use the potatoes now or will they be ok. I know he was just trying to help & I have come home & shouted at him so he isn't speaking to me now . Any advice on the potatoes welcome??

PS it says on the beeb [h=3]Harvesting[/h]

• Your home-grown potatoes should be ready for lifting from June until September, depending on the varieties and the growing conditions. Earlies can be lifted and eaten as soon as they're ready.
• This will be when above-ground growth is still green, and usually as soon as the flowers open.
• Second and maincrop varieties can be kept in the ground much longer, until September, even though above-ground growth may well be looking past its best.
• Two weeks before you lift the crop, cut the growth off at ground level. This should give the skins of the potatoes sufficient time to toughen up, making them far less prone to damage from lifting and easier to store.

 

[Lucia Lucia]

I just asked my hubby, he's a gardener. Potatoes will be fine. Leave in ground and just lift them as you want them for each meal.

 

[jaylou]

Pink Fir Apples are a winter crop of potatoes and are normally lifted from November.
They won't grow any more but the potatoes should be okay as long as they don't get too damp in the ground. They may rot or be eaten - I've had spuds dug up by hungry rabbits in the past!