POTATOES

Potatoes are fun and rewarding to grow. Here is all the advice you need to make 3them a success

PLANT:

Mid March – end April, again August – September

HARVEST:

June – October inclusive

Always buy quality seed potatoes

You don’t need an allotment or large veg patch in which to grow potatoes – you can produce a delicious tasting in no more than a large pot or old compost bag.

SOURCING YOUR SPUDS

It is important to buy fresh new tubers each year from a reliable source since these should be virus free. They can be found in all the larger seed catalogues, from specialists, online or via one of the many potato days which are held around the country.

WHAT NEXT?

Having obtained your seed potatoes you must store them until they are ready to plant.This is done by placing them with their eyes (buds) uppermost in a cell of a module tray, an egg carton or in a seed tray. Next begins the process of chitting your potatoes.

Chitting is the process of encouraging shoots to develop prior to planting and this gives the crop a head start when in the ground. It is important to keep the trays in a light, frost free (preferably 10C/50F) and dry place until needed. In this way they will produce a number of short, stocky green shoots.

SOIL PREPARATION

Potatoes are not fussy about soils and this makes them much easier to grow than many other crops.

They do prefer a sunny spot and being hungry plants are best grown in soil that was manured the previous autumn or which had garden compost dug in. Avoid land which has just been limed as this can give rise to scab – corky patches on the potato skins.