SEED POTATOES
WHAT TO GROW
There are dozens of different seed potato varieties you can buy, usually described as early, second early, & maincrop potatoes. These names indicate when they crop and also give you an idea of the space you will need to plant them. You should concentrate on the earlier types if your short of space, its worth mentioning that earlies are less likely to encounter pest problems as you can lift them much earlier in the year.
First earlies should be ready 10 weeks after planting, second earlies take 16 to 17 weeks to mature after planting, so you should be able to harvest them from very late June through to the start of August. Maincrop seed potatoes will be ready 18 to 20 weeks after planting, so they can be lifted from late August through to October. These varieties tend to be the best for storage.
CHITTING
Chitting simply means encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before planting, you should start chitting in late February, about 6 weeks before you intend planting your potatoes. Each seed potato has a number of eyes, stand the tubers (seed potatoes) in trays or old egg boxes, with plenty of natural light. The seed potatoes are ready to be planted out when the eye shoots are 1.5 – 2.5 centimetres long.
Find out in my next blog – How to plant your seed potatoes
and how to harvest them
Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
