GROWING POTATOES
Enjoy the satisfying, fresh flavour of newly dug potatoes lifted straight from your own vegetable plot. If you're lucky enough to have the space for spuds, here's our easy to follow guide on how to plant and when to grow seed potatoes. Find out all you need to know about the different potato varieties and their planting times.
To allow the soil to settle before planting, begin by preparing your potato plot well in advance. Do it in November or December, for planting at the end of February at the earliest. Remove all the weeds and dig the site thoroughly and deeply, lifting out large stones and incorporating plenty of well-rotted organic matter and high-potash fertiliser.
HOW TO
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Seed potatoes, particularly earlies and second earlies, benefit from 'chitting' before planting to encourage strong shoots, fast growth, and heavier cropping. Seed potatoes are normally about the size of a chicken's egg, but often vary in size. Don't worry if yours are different sizes – they'll all grow equally well.
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rom late January into February, 'chit' your seed potatoes by setting them out in seed trays, shallow boxes or empty egg cartons in a cool, bright, frost-free position (10C/ 50F), to allow them to sprout. You'll notice that the immature 'chits' form at one end of the potato – called the 'rose end'.
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Place the rose end upwards and let the 'chits' grow to 25mm (1") in length. Rub off all but the three or four strongest chits before planting, or you'll end up with lots of potatoes, but they'll be very small.
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Dig a trench to a depth of about 10 cm (4") and place the seed potatoes into the soil with the rose end pointing up. Fill the trench with soil to cover the potatoes and, if required, scatter potato fertiliser along the top of the trench. As a general rule:
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First early potatoes. Plant from the end of February. 12" apart. Harvest 10 weeks from planting.
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Second early potatoes. Plant from mid March. 15" apart. Harvest 13 weeks from planting.
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Early maincrop potatoes. Plant from late March. 18" apart. Harvest 15 weeks from planting.
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Maincrop potatoes. Plant from late March. 18" apart. Harvest 20 weeks from planting.
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Second cropping potatoes. Plant from early August. 12" apart. Harvest 11 weeks from planting.
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To protect young potato plants from frosts which blacken the shoots, it's important to 'earth them up as soon as they emerge above ground. Simply draw some soil over the top of the shoots to cover them again. When the stems reach a height of 23cm (9"), earth them up again to stop tubers near the soil surface turning green. Unless there's plenty of rain, first early and second early crops will need watering, especially when tubers are developing.
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Because tubers tend to grow larger over the growing period, start harvesting first earlies as 'new potatoes' when the plants begin to flower, about 10 weeks after planting. Maincrop varieties are best left in the ground for at least two weeks after the leaves and haulms (stems) wither, to allow the skins to set. Cut down the stems with secateurs to just above soil level as the leaves wither and yellow, or if they show signs of blight.
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Once dry, store them in paper sacks in a dark, cool but frost free place. Avoid storing in polythene bags as potatoes will rot.