SEED POTATOES
Of all the vegetables grown in British gardens the potato is perhaps the most ubiquitous. Easy to
grow and very rewarding, everybody can find a variety (or three) to suit their needs. Credit for
their introduction to this country is given to Sir Walter Raleigh – builder of Sherborne Castle and
in whose walled garden Castle Gardens now exists.
Potatoes are well suited to new gardeners and are often planted as the first crop in new ground to
help improve it whilst the dense foliage supresses many of the weeds that would otherwise spring
up from the seed bank.
Growing
SOIL - choose an open, well-drained frost-free site. Prepare the ground, if possible in the autumn
by digging plenty of organic matter to a depth of about 2ft or 60 cm. A general fertilizer may be
added just prior to planting, such as Growmore.
CHOOSING VARIETIES – If you have enough space in the vegetable plot it is worth growing
varieties from all three groups of potato – the first earlies, the second earlies and the maincrops.
This allows you to spread out the harvest dates of your crop and also spreads your bet in case of
pest or disease problems such as blight. With less space, it is a popular choice to grow a row of
first earlies to get those wonderful new potatoes on the dinner table as early in the year as
possible alongside a larger area of maincrop potatoes. If you have very little space read on to find
out about growing potatoes in pots!
CHITTING - set out your seed potatoes, eyes uppermost, in egg boxes or wooden trays to chit.
Keep them in a light but not sunny position in a well ventilated frost free room. The tubers will
develop several sprouts 15-25mm or 1/2 to 1 inch long within about 6 weeks. For larger early
potatoes leave only 3 sprouts per tuber, rubbing off the rest. Otherwise the more sprouts per
tuber, the higher the yield.
PLANTING - plant out FIRST EARLIES in mid March, 30cm or 1ft apart, and 60cm, 2ft between
rows and 10-15cm or 4-6 inches deep. Harvest June/July.
Plant out SECOND EARLIES with the same spacing from early April and harvest in July/August
Plant out MAINCROP 13” apart with 30” between rows (this allows extra space for the tubers to
mature) from late April and harvest in August, September and October.
EARTHING UP - Potatoes need to be 'earthed up' (drawing a mound of soil over them) to prevent
those tubers near the surface from turning green and making them unpalatable and sometimes
even toxic. This also protects the green leaves from any late frosts.
Potatoes in Pots
Harvesting your own potatoes is very satisfying, discovering the hidden treasures that lie beneath
the soil. But what if you haven’t the space for a vegetable garden? Why not try a few tubers in a
container. Use a pot that is approximately 18 inches deep and wide. Place 3 tubers in fresh
compost about half way down, keep well watered and away from frosts. They will be ready in a
few months time. Try to pick a variety with shorter foliage such as Swift. It’s that easy so go on
have a go.
Top Tip - save some tubers and repeat the process in September in the greenhouse for new
potatoes on Christmas Day.
The Gardens Group Ltd. Reg No. 3498786
Reg office Humphries Kirk, 40 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UR
www.thegardeneronline.co.uk
Seed Potato Varieties
FIRST EARLIES
Arran Pilot - Gardeners favourite early, produces heavy crop, tubers oval with creamy white flesh,
good for boiling and chipping, resistant to drought.
Home Guard -Well known for early lifting, uniform oval tubers, creamy white flesh, good all round
cooker.
Pentland Javelin - Produces heavy crop of short oval white skinned, white and waxy fleshed
tubers. Good for boiling and salad use.
Sharpes Express - Long oval tubers, white skinned pale lemon flesh. A good all round cooker with
fine flavour.
Duke of York - Oval tubers with pale yellow flesh turning dry and mealy after boiling. Has an
excellent flavour.
Maris Bard - White skinned, oval tuber with moist textured white flesh. Very early and a good all
round cooker. A good variety for under glass, resistant to drought.
Swift - Round to oval tubers with shallow eyes. Pale yellow skin with creamy white flesh. Ideal for
a windy position. Good cooking, slightly waxy texture ideal for salads.
Accord - A high yielding variety producing good crops of uniformly shaped oval tubers with
creamy-white flesh.
Lady Christl - A great variety that produces good yields and has good resistance to common scab.
Good for boiling, chips and salads.
International kidney - A good boiling and salad variety with long kidney shaped tubers.
Red Duke of York- deep oval red tubers, a good general purpose variety
Foremost - Short oval white fleshed and slightly waxy with good flavour, a good boiler.
Epicure - Round white skinned with firm creamy flesh, floury texture.
Rocket - Round with white skin and flesh. Very early maturing and good for boiling. Lift before
mature to avoid cracking. A good variety for pot culture.
The Gardens Group Ltd. Reg No. 3498786
Reg office Humphries Kirk, 40 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UR
www.thegardeneronline.co.uk
SECOND EARLIES
Maris Peer - Oval white tubers and
creamy white, waxy flesh. A good
cropper and boiler.
Catriona - Oval tubers with white skin
and purple eyes. Pale yellow, floury
flesh with a pleasing
flavour. A good exhibition variety.
Wilja - Good cropper, oval tubers with
yellow skin and pale yellow flesh. Waxy
texture that
remains firm, good overall quality.
Estima - Heavy cropper with oval
tubers and light yellow skin. Good
drought resistance and all
round cooker.
Nadine - Pale waxy flesh, good cropper
with round tubers with white skin.
Suitable for the show
bench.
Marfona - Short oval, light yellow skin
and creamy flesh. Very heavy cropper
with firm tubers,
ideal for chipping, baking and boiling.
Good drought resistance.
Kestrel - Oval tubers with purple eyes
and floury flesh. Good resistance to
drought and slugs.
Charlotte - A long yellow fleshed and
yellow skinned potato. Good yield with
large tubers excellent for salads.
The Gardens Group Ltd. Reg No. 3498786
Reg office Humphries Kirk, 40 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UR
www.thegardeneronline.co.uk
MAINCROP
Pentland Crown - White skin and flesh. A good cropper which is slightly moist after cooking and is
suitable for boiling and chipping. Waxy flesh with good drought resistance.
Majestic - Oval white skinned and white floury flesh. Suits most soils and is a reliable cropper. A
good keeper and all round cooker.
Desire - Oval red skinned with pale yellow flesh. A heavy cropper that will bake, boil or chip.
Waxy flesh and good drought resistance.
King Edward - Oval white skinned with pink eyes, well known good quality potato with white flesh
that rarely discolours after cooking.
Romano - Round red skinned with creamy white flesh. A good cropper. Good all round table
potato.
Cara - Round white skinned and pink eyed. Creamy flesh late cropper, excellent baker and good
drought resistance.
Maris Piper - Short oval with white skin and cream flesh. High yields of fairly small potatoes.
Floury and good for baking and chipping.
Pink Fir Apple - A salad potato, tubers are long and thin with pink skins which are easily removed
after boiling. Retains a superb new potato' flavour well into the new year. Has waxy flesh, late
maturing and low yields.
Picasso - A good variety for baking, boiling, chips and roasting, tubers are round to oval in shape
with pink eyes.
Sarpo mira - The most blight resistant variety with a dry and floury texture, good for baking,
boiling, chips and roasting.
Sarpo axona - Similar to Sarpo Mira but the tubers are more regular in shape and the flesh
slightly more creamy.
The Gardens Group Ltd. Reg No. 3498786
Reg office Humphries Kirk, 40 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UR
www.thegardeneronline.co.uk
HARVESTING
When are your potatoes ready to harvest? First earlies are best enjoyed when they are small and
fresh in June/July/August and second earlies follow on. Carefully scrape away some soil to see if
they have reached the size you want before you decide to dig.
Maincrop varieties are better left until October to develop to a good size. Once the foliage has
died back leave maincrop potatoes in the ground for 2-3weeks to allow the skins to ‘set’ before
storing.
As a guideline, expect earlies to take 65 – 100 days from planting, second earlies to take 100 –
130 days and maincrop to take 125 – 180 days. The weather, your planting date and which part
of the country you are in will all affect how soon your crop is ready.
To lift your potatoes, insert a garden fork (or even better a proper potato fork with broad,
rounded tines that will not pierce your potatoes) into the ground not far from the base of the
plant. As you turn over the forkful of soil your potatoes should be revealed!
STORING
Moist or wet potatoes will not keep so choose a dry day to harvest and let leave them on the
surface of the soil for a few hours to dry off. Some varieties – usually maincrop varieties will stay
dormant until the following spring and can be left in the ground until required if you prefer.
Pack your crop into breathable bags – preferably hessian sacks – and keep these in a dark, airy
and cool but frost-free environment.
The Gardens Group Ltd. Reg No. 3498786
Reg office Humphries Kirk, 40 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UR
www.thegardeneronline.co.uk