Potatoes are a national staple for gardeners and cooks, and it’s no wonder! They are endlessly versatile crops for cooking and quite easy to grow too. They need a fair amount of space and nutrients, but with the option to grow in containers or bags you don’t need a whole garden to grow your own potatoes. One single potato plant can yield up to 10 potatoes, so just a few plants can go a long way.
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How to grow potatoes
Potatoes are cool weather crops, which means they like to do the majority of their growth outside of the high heat of summer. Potatoes, therefore, are most commonly planted in the early spring, a few weeks before the frosts have passed. If you’re hoping for Christmas dinner roasties, then you can try planting as the summer is coming to an end so they are ready to harvest in December but choose your varieties carefully.
First Early, Second Early & Maincrop Potatoes
There are three main types of potato, separated by their planting/harvesting times.
First Early
As the label suggests, first early potatoes are those varieties which can be planted and harvested first (plant out from end of February and harvest from June). These are ‘new’ potatoes, harvested while the tubers are still small. They take 10-12 weeks to mature. Because of their fast growing cycle and small tubers, they are good for growing in containers and bags.
- Plant Out: From end of February
- Harvest: From June (10-12 weeks after planting)
- Location: direct, bags, containers, raised beds
- Spacing: in rows 30cm apart, 60cm between rows
First Early Potato Varieties:
‘Red Duke of York’, ‘Lady Christl’, ‘Orla’, ‘Rocket’, ‘Arran Pilot’, ‘Casablanca’, ‘Home Guard’, ‘Maris Bard’, ‘Pentland Javelin’, ‘Abbot’, ‘Epicure’, ‘Purple Majesty’, ‘Swift’.
Second Early
Like first earlies, second early potatoes are eaten as ‘new’ or salad potatoes and don’t store very well, but take a few more weeks to mature than the first early varieties - about 14-16 weeks. These are also a good choice for growing in containers and growing bags.
- Plant Out: From mid March
- Harvest: From July (14-16 weeks after planting)
- Location: direct, bags, containers, raised beds
- Spacing: in rows 35cm apart, 75cm between rows
Some second early potatoes can be grown for ‘Second Cropping’, which means they can be planted in August for harvesting at Christmas time. These will need frost protection and are best grown in bags in a greenhouse. There is no need to chit these potatoes, as the g