Tatty bumbums
Potato season is upon us. I loved growing potatoes last year, they were easy and tasted amazing. And digging them up for the first time is more exciting than opening your presents at Christmas (especially if you only get socks and smellies every year). I digress…
Last year I planted out in February, however this year I have been too busy / lazy / hungover (delete as appropriate) and have left it until now. However, all is not lost as apparently the traditional day to plant out is on Good Friday. Which is this Friday. So I can still put the rest off until then, I suppose.
I planted mine in sacks, and they worked fine. A very large laundry bag will work or a tub / bin. If you’ve got some ground then stacked tyres are also good. I would recommend using Salad potatoes (Charlottes, Maris Peer) and they are small and versitile, and work well for small spaces. Potatoes also come in a range of planting stages such as Earlies, Second earlies, and Maincrops – which I haven’t quite got my head round this yet. Last year I planted second earlies in February (way before the season starts) and they worked fine… so I’ve decided to ignore this probably essential part of my potato career.
To Chit or not to Chit.
For that is the question. Chitting is basically aging the potato so it sprouts roots and basically looks like something you’d find at the back of the cupboard in university. It’ll eventually look like this…
Chitting is often recommended to give the potato a good start as soon as it hits the compost really. However some gardeners don’t believe in chitting and say that by planting potatoes as you get them, they’ll produce just as good as crop as a chitted potato.
Its best to get your seed potatoes from a recommended outlet such as garden organic so you can guarentee that they are pesticide and disease free. Tesco’s Finest will not suffice.
How to…
Fill your sack with a third of a good organic compost (doesn’t have to be organic but your tatties will be nicer).
Plant potatoes a few inches apart and cover with a few inches of compost. After a few weeks the potato shoots will start poking through. As they do, keep layering around with compost (this is called earthing up). Eventually these shoots will start developing leaves (sometimes flower) and you’ll be faced with a postive jungle of potato leaves.
Potatoes will be ready to dig up when the leaves have all died away – I planted in February last year, and potatoes were ready in July. I dug mine up on a ready to eat basis. There’s no need to dig them all up as they will be perfectly happy sitting in the soil until you are ready to eat.
If you are in a sheltered area you will need to water regularly, but be careful not to water too often as this can rot the potato. Its easier to judge the watering when the leaves and branches are fully developed as they’ll soon look knackered if they haven’t been watered enough.
If you are feeling generous, throw in some organic potato feed and mix it in to the soil. This will ensure that the compost has sufficient nitrogen to feed the potatoes and make them taste lovely.
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