What are Potatoes? The Food Of The Nation!

It is becoming increasingly popular to grow your own, but many of us are a little uncertain about the whole thing. You don’t need a lot of land to grow spuds, they can even be grown in potato bags, pots, or tyres stacked on top of each other!

Seed potatoes are available from February onwards, but it is too cold to plant them out now. To give them a head start, a technique called chitting is employed. To chit, simply take your seed potatoes and put them on a cardboard tray, ensuring they do not touch. Alternatively, use an egg box. Place in a cool but bright spot, free from frost. They will sprout, but this is exactly what you want. You can start to chit potatoes from the beginning of February onwards, for planting out in mid-March.


How do you get started with a vegetable garden?

If you are starting a vegetable garden, potatoes are a fantastic beginner’s crop. They loosen the soil in preparation for future crops, but they are also more or less trouble free and quick growing. They are an excellent crop when gardening with children, large enough to handle, resilient to being stood on in the garden, and the surprise young children get when you dig up that one small spud which has magically become a bucket full is something to see!

 There are three main types of potatoes, first earlies, second earlies and main-crop. The difference between them is planting out times and harvesting times.


What are first early variety potatoes?


First early varieties are: Sharpes Express and Homeguards. They are planted out from March, but need to be protected from from frost. Plant them 30cm apart, 60 cm between rows and 12cm deep. Harvest in June.


What are second early variety potatoes?

Second early varieties such as British Queens can be planted out from March, again protecting from frost, 30cm apart, 60cm between rows and 12cm deep. Harvest in July.


What are main-crop varieties of potatoes?



Main-crop varieties such as Kerr Pinks or Golden Wonder are planted out from the beginning of April. Plant 40 cm apart, 75cm between rows and 12cm deep. Harvest from August onwards.


Earthing up - what is it?

Earthing up is done when the potato plants are about 20-30cm tall. Pile soil loosely around the stems. This encourages potatoes to form higher up the plant than they would normally, increasing your yield quite substantially. With main-crop varieties, it can be done twice.


What is blight?

Blight is caused by fungal spores which are airborne and particularly prevalent in warm humid weather. There is usually a blight warning given on weather forecasts. First symptoms are yellowing foliage, followed by dying foliage. Quickly after that, the potatoes will rot.  To prevent blight, you can spray with Copper Mixture. It works by sealing the leaves with a layer of copper, preventing the fungus from taking hold.

If the disease takes hold, cut away all the foliage, take it away and if possible burn it. Leave the potatoes in the ground for several days, and hopefully they will not be affected.

There are blight resistant potatoes, such as Sarpo Mira. These are not as prone to getting the disease. Planting first and second earlies is also a good way to avoid blight, as they are usually harvested before the blight season begins.

If you are starting a vegetable garden, potatoes are a fantastic beginner’s crop. They loosen the soil in preparation for future crops, but they are also more or less trouble free and quick growing. They are an excellent crop when gardening with children, large enough to handle, resilient to being stood on in the garden, and the surprise young children get when you dig up that one small spud which has magically become a bucket full is something to see!