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If you’ve always fancied having a go at growing potatoes, now’s the time to start.
Home-grown varieties are invariably tastier straight out of the ground however you serve them, mashed, fried, roasted or boiled, and if you choose different varieties you can harvest them for longer.
This beginner’s guide should help you through the basics.
1. Consider your space
You don’t need masses of space or an allotment to grow potatoes. Even if you only have a patio, you can grow delicious new potatoes in a large container, a dustbin or even a sack, perhaps with a different variety in each. Work out the space you have and the sort of harvest you want.
Bear in mind that they do best in deep, rich, well-drained soil in a sunny spot. They won’t tolerate frost or being waterlogged.
2. Choose your potatoes
You start with certified seed potatoes, which look like small regular potatoes and are widely available in bags in late winter and early spring from garden centres and online. If you’ve only room for a few, some outlets will sell loose ones by weight.
They are classified as being either earlies (new potatoes) or maincrops. While both should be planted at the same time, earlies are ready to harvest from summer onwards, much earlier than maincrops, which are left in the ground until autumn and tend to be larger and suitable for storing over winter.
Earlies are subdivided into ‘first earlies’ which take three months to mature, and ‘second earlies’, which take a bit longer. Grow a few of each variety to prolong your harvest.
Earlies are ideal for smaller plots as they can be planted closer together and will be done by mid-summer, when you could replace them with a different crop.
3. ‘Chit’ them
To give yourself a head start, ‘chit’ your earlies from late January through to March, a process which starts them into growth. Place your seed potatoes on old seed trays or empty egg boxes with their ‘eyes’ (sprouts) uppermost, in a cool, light, airy spot like a windowsill, but not in direct sunlight.
In four to six weeks, the sprouts should have grown and you can rub off all but the four strongest ones. By then, they should be ready for planting. You don’t need to chit maincrop potatoes as they have a much longer growing season.
4. Prepare your ground
It’s best to add well-rotted manure or compost to the ground in autumn, but if you’ve missed that slot, dig over your area deeply while your potatoes are being chitted, removing stones and weeds and adding compost or well-rotted manure to your space.
5. Plant in spring
First earlies can be planted in early spring, although if you live in colder areas, leave it till April or May when the soil has warmed up a bit. Either dig a trench or plant the seed potatoes in individual holes, 15cm (6in) deep and 30cm (12in) apart, with 60cm (24in) between rows for earlies, and 40cm (15in) apart in rows 75cm (2½ft) apart for maincrops. If you place the potatoes too close, they will tend to be smaller.
6. Earth up
As the plants grow, draw a mound of soil up around the stems, known as earthing up, to keep the developing tubers underground, as tubers which are exposed to light will turn green, making them toxic and inedible. You’ll need to earth them up a few times during the growing season, when the shoots reappear, until the mound is 20-30cm (8-12in) high.
7. Look after the crop
Water earlies thoroughly if you have a prolonged dry spell, when the tubers are swelling. Don’t water maincrops until later in the summer. Keep on top of weeding.
8. Harvest your spuds
Earlies are ready for lifting when the flowers open or the buds drop, from June onwards, but have a careful dig around with your hand first to make sure they are big enough. Only lift what you need on a daily basis as that will keep them fresher.
You can begin lifting maincrops later in the year, from September to November, digging them up carefully with a garden fork. Discard any green ones or those showing signs of damage or disease.
9. In containers
You’ll need a large pot for potatoes with at least a 10 litre capacity and at least 30cm (12in) deep, with drainage holes. Line the base with rocks or stones to help drainage and add 15cm (6in) of compost, placing your sprouted tubers on top (one tuber per 10 litre pot is sufficient, or two to a dustbin) and cover with 10cm (4in) compost.
Once the plants have produced 15cm (6in) leaf growth, add another 10cm (4in) of compost to the container, which is the equivalent of earthing up. Repeat this each time another 15cm of growth has appeared until the compost is within 5cm (2in) of the top of the container.
To harvest, dig your hands into the compost to pick out the potatoes in the upper part of the container. Once they’ve been harvested, gently use a hand fork to extract those lower down, or tip the container over to sift through the potatoes.
