The King Edward potatoes which have been grown as a main crop for storage over the winter, have started to senesce.

Senescence is when the green leaves and stalks of potatoes, known as the haulm, starts to die down at the end of the season. The potato tubers  stop growing and the skins start to set.

The skins have to be set before the potatoes can be lifted for storage.  More information can be found in the post ‘potato-skins-must-set-for-storage‘.

The potato haulm can be left to die back naturally, and the potato skins will set about two or three weeks after the haulm has died.  Or the haulm can be cut off, which will force the skins to start setting.  This will mean that the skin will start to set earlier and the potatoes can be lifted earlier.  This is possibly a way of ensuring that the soil is dry when the potatoes are lifted.  Wet potatoes do not store well..