Are these early or main crop potatoes? In one sense doesn't matter if the foliage has all fallen down then there is little you can do except cut them down to the ground and remove. For next year you might want to think about why that happened, not enough water, irregular watering, not hoeing up the shaws? Leave the potatoes in the ground for a few weeks and then lift. The fact that the larger ones have scab is not a problem, simply unsightly - you can still eat them. Did you keep the potatoes well watered and keep ridging up the shaws? Also did you remove all but 3 sprouts from your seed potatoes?

I was hoping that someone else would have responded before now, Gillice, but here is my unsavory suggestion: blight? This is based on your observation that the haulms have fallen over. If they are going brown tomorrow then this would support my suggestion, if still firm and green then ignore what I say! If it is blight, caused by airborn fungi in warm and wet weather, the cut the haulms off and burn them. Then harvest and eat the potatoes as quickly as possible.

Thank you Moongrower and Bulbaholic. I don't think it is blight as the plants themselves are green and vigorous. They are main crop potatoes. They may be under-watered as it has been hard this year and I have to carry watering cans quite a way to water them as we are not allowed hoses on the allotment and my water butts were empty. Also I couldn't get to the plants to hoe the soil over them because of the amount of green thick stems that were in the way.

I forgot to say that some of the plants themselves have little round green seeds/fruit? growing on the ends of them where the flowers were. What are these?

I will cut down the haulms over the weekend, make sure the potatoes are covered with soil and leave them for a while.

Thanks again. I appreciate your help.

The green fruits will eventually go red and look like tomatoes. They are the seed pods of the plants, but very poisonous so do not eat them. We usually remove them so the plants spend their energy making tubers rather than seeds.
To be honest, if the haulms are healthy why do anything with them at all? Ours have been blown over before now and as long as they do not get blight we leave them alone until they wither when we did up the roots.

Agree with Owdb. if they have just collapsed sideway because you weren't able to ridge them up simply leave them alone.

OK thanks Moon grower and Owdboggy. I will leave them alone. I didn't know the green fruits were seed pods. I don't think I've ever had them before.

Not all varieties of potato set flowers so you won't always see. Just make sure no small child picks and tries to eat!

I am pleased to hear that it is not blight. Shame that your allotment society does not allow hoses as carting water as you need to must be very difficult.

Could I ask how people store their potatoes, not found a reliable way yet.
Thank you

Unless they are main crop they won't store Andrea. 1st and 2nd early potatoes should be lifted as needed. Main crop potatoes should be lifted the tubers left on the surface for a day to allow the skin to dry off and any soil brushed off the next day. Store in something like hessian sacks somewhere cool and dry, we use the potting shed. As some of the tubers will start to rot check regularly and dispose of any that are starting to rot. They keep, usually, until around January or even February. Do not store in anything plastic as they'll rot very rapidly.

Thanks for that information, very useful.

Sorry to disagree with Moon-grower, but we have just finished the last of last years First earlies and Seconds. Everyone says they do not keep, but we have no trouble doing it. We dig them up, allow them to really dry off in the poly tunnel in the heat. Then we bag them up in Hessian sacks and store them in the Summer House where it is dark and has a fairly constant temperature. She brings a few up to the house as needed.
They keep so well that we no longer bother growing a main crop as we did not need that many spuds.

If it works for you great Owdb. but the majority of folk find that main crop potatoes are far easier to keep and less likely to rot.