Who was first to start growing potatoes in  the UK? Sir Walter Raleigh is often credited with introducing the potato to the UK, but there is little factual evidence for this. Up to the 1800’s growing potatoes was only for the poor. Their nutritional value and taste has been appreciated more over the last 200 years and the humble potato has now become part of the standard diet of many countries.

A potato plant will grow in most soils as long as it has been well dug. The soil should be clear of large lumps and stones. Add as much compost as is available, or bone meal (or similar) at the time of digging. The ideal position for a potatoes is a warm and sunny site with little or no shade. Do not grow potatoes in the soil for two years in succession, this will increase the risk of disease. For the same reason do not plant potatoes where tomatoes were grown the previous year. Both are from the same family and will readily transmit diseases to each other.

When and How To Plant Potato Seed
Potatoes are grown from seed potatoes which grow better if they are allowed  to ’sprout’ before planting This process is referred to as ‘chitting’. Seed potatoes should be selected in January or February to give time for the chitting process to develop.  Here at we have lots of different varieties to choose from and you can buy quantities from as little as 1kg

Place the seeds in boxes (cardboard egg boxes are ideal) in a light airy position at a temperature of roughly 10C (50F). The potato seed should be positioned so the the sprouts are uppermost and the ’stalk’ end (where they were severed form the parent plant) is at the bottom. Sometimes this is a bit difficult to judge, but if you get it wrong, and the potatoes sprout from the bottom end, simply rub off the sprouts and turn the potato to the correct position.

As the potato seed produce sprouts, remove all but the topmost four to ensure that they receive all the goodness of the seed potato. The ideal sprout length at planting time is 2.5cm (1in) although this is not critical. What is critical, is that the sprouts are green and not white coloured. White sprouts are caused by not enough light.

Planting
Early to mid-March is the ideal time to plant the sprouted potatoes in open ground. Plant ‘earlies’ about 30cm (12in) apart from each other, in rows which are 60 cm (2ft) apart. Plant maincrop potatoes about 35cm (15in) apart, in rows which are 75cm (2ft 6in) apart. The trench should be about 10cm (4in) deep, placing the potatoes in it with the sprouts pointing upwards. Hand fill the trench over the potatoes trying to avoid damaging any sprouts. Rake in bone meal or similar long lasting fertiliser over the top soil.

Caring for Your Potatoes
Frost damage is the first concern in the early stages. If shoots emerge above the soil level and frost threatens, draw a little soil from the bed edges over them.
Remove any flower heads or buds which appear because these will produce potato seeds which will divert energy from the potato tubers.

How To Harvest Potatoes
Potatoes are ready for harvest when the foliage first starts to die and turn yellow. Early (new) potatoes can be lifted earlier (no earlier than June ) to get the very tastiest potatoes. In this case, harvest them about a week after the potato plant flowers first appear. New potatoes only produce a couple of handfuls of potatoes per plant, so dig up the whole plant.

How about container growing?

Try planting seed potatoes in halved whisky barrels. Drill holes in the bottom then add some rocks for drainage. Place a thin layer of compost over the rocks then add the potatoes. Add enough compost to cover, adding more as the sprouts come up. By mid summer the barrel will be full of compost and the potatoes are easy to harvest when ready.

Anyone can grow potatoes even if they have no garden space available. See this video on how to grow potatoes in a container or in this case a bag!

We hope that you have enjoyed this article, if you need more advice from one of the few friendly, independent garden centres in Wigan please call in for a chat.

Quick Tips on How to Grow Potatoes
Growing potatoes is seen by many gardeners as more work than is justified, given price of potatoes at the store. However, this overlooks the fact that you can get much more variety in the potatoes that you grow in the garden

Growing Potatoes
Daily blogs from the experts at BBC Gardeners’ World.

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