Guide to Growing Potatoes

• Home grown potatoes taste wonderful and the difference in taste between them and potatoes from the supermarket is huge.
• Home growers also benefit from a huge amount of choice in the varieties of potato to grow and enjoy eating.
• Potatoes are pretty straight forward to grow and particularly suitable for container growing, either in large pots or buckets, the heavy duty plastic sacks used by the show growers, or potato barrels designed for patio growing.

Sowing and Growing

• Potatoes are grown from specially grown tubers, called seed potatoes. The tubers need some preparation, called chitting, before planting.
• The terms first early, second early and maincrop refer the the amount of time between sowing and harvesting. First earlies are usually ready in around 10 weeks, second earlies after about 13 weeks and maincrop after 20 weeks or so. You can also plant tubers in autumn for a special Christmas crop.
• Unlike many vegetables, potatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil. They are greedy feeders – work a good amount of manure or compost into the soil.
• Start earlies in mid-March, and plant your maincrop a couple of weeks later.
• To sow, make a hole with a trowel and pop the potato into it, or scrape a trench about 10 cm (4 inches) deep and place the potatoes in it, then pull the soil in from the sides to cover the potatoes. If frost threatens once the leaves have started to grow through, protect them with more earth pulled from the sides, or a covering of fleece.
• First and second earlies should be planted 30 cm (12 inches) apart, in rows 60 cm (24 inches) apart. Maincrop potatoes need more space – plant them 40 cm (16 inches) apart, in rows 75 cm (30 inches) apart.
• As the plants grow, draw more earth from the sides of the rows over the plants (earthing up). If light gets to the developing potatoes, they go green – green potatoes will give you an upset stomach and should not be eaten. Growth won't slow, and the plant will not be damaged if you cover some of the leaves while earthing up.
• Give the plants an additional dose of fertilizer a month or so after planting, either something specifically formulated for potatoes or a general organic fertilizer such as blood, fish and bone. Liquid comfrey feed produces good results.
• Water the plants in dry weather. Irregular water supply reduces the yield and the potatoes may crack from uneven growth.
• Read more in our In Depth Growing Guide and Fertilizer Programme.

Harvesting

• Harvest your first earlies for new potatoes. Take a plant at a time and leave the others to continue growing.
• Approach the plant from the side and lift it carefully with a fork. It is almost impossible to completely avoid spearing your potatoes with the fork, but try not to damage them.
• When you want to harvest the entire crop, pick a dry, sunny day and leave the potatoes on the surface of the soil for a few hours to harden the skin. This will help them store better.
• Try to lift even the tiniest potatoes. Any left in the soil will grow the following year and act as a reservoir for pests and diseases.
• Potatoes are best stored in the hessian sacks available from seed suppliers. They need to be kept dry and dark – any light will turn them green and inedible.
• Read more about Harvesting and Storing.

Pests and Problems

• The worst pest is the slug so keep your slug defences up.
• Blight is the other major problem. Read our advice on preventing and dealing with blight.

Varieties

• How to choose from the vast number of varieties available? Read through our article on Varieties & Flavour for advice.

Eating

• Potatoes provide significant vitamin C and vitamin B3 (niacin) as well as copper and phosphorus.
• Surprisingly potatoes can help you lose weight if you're dieting. They do contain carbohydrates but not as much as white bread. Boiled potatoes, baked potatoes or mashed (but not with loads of butter) are filling without being fattening. Chips and roasties are, unfortunately, not going to help you lose weight!