One Potato, Two Potato … A whole potato plant, actually.

One of the most popular crops to grow due to their high yield, and one we highly recommend for beginners because they’re so easy to grow. However, we often find novice gardeners can be put off by the terminology surrounding potato growing, so here we have an explanation of those pesky words you see on the back of seed potato packets and our top tips for getting the most out of your potato plants!

#1. Know your potatoes. When you buy a pack of seed potatoes pay attention to terms like ‘first earlies’, ‘second earlies’ and ‘main crop’. This refers to the length of time it takes for the crop to mature (ie from planting to harvest). First earlies will be ready to harvest in 10-12 weeks, second earlies will be ready in 12-18 weeks, whereas main crop potatoes will take twenty weeks or more until they can be harvested. Salad varieties normally take between 18-20 weeks to mature.

#2. Know what you grow. It sounds ridiculous, but often many people don’t think about taste when they choose crops to grow! One of the best things about growing your own veg is that you can choose exactly the flavours you like best, and get so much more choice of variety than you would in a supermarket. Make time to take note of different varieties in store, as each has a different flavour profile and is recommended for different uses - ie whether they’re better for chips or roasties! One of our favourites include Rocket - which is very fast growing and ideal if you want potatoes ready for Easter. Another is Charlotte, which is a waxy variety that’s full of flavour.

#3. Make time for a chit. Chitting is a really easy, five minute job which requires no technical expertise but makes a huge difference to the quality of your crop. It’s hard to explain concisely without pictures but you can find a link here to a video of me chitting my rocket potatoes.

#4. When the tubers have sprouted you can plant your potatoes up. Check for updates as we will post a video on how to do this very soon!