planting guide
POTATO PLANTING GUIDE
YOUGARDEN POTATOES There are so many potatoes to choose from that suit different gardens and different needs so we’ve selected the best of the best that will suit any garden and any need! Whether you want a quick cropper to turn into potato salad, or a longer cropping baked spud, they’re all just as easy to grow and look after and are guaranteed to give great results, and taste. The best thing is, you don’t even need a garden – you can grow in a bag or a pot on a patio, balcony or terrace. Make sure you pick a light, warm and sunny spot in your garden to plant them and that you have a good supply of potato fertiliser to ensure even greater yields. When your seed potatoes arrive, stand them up in an egg box in a cool, light room so they can begin shooting or ‘chitting’ as it is known. ‘Chitting’ is simply the process of allowing your tubers to grow shoots on before planting them which will encourage faster growth and heavier yields. Leave them for 3-4 weeks and wait for short, dark shoots to emerge – take care not to damage these when handling or planting! Now that you’re ready to get planting, just follow the three easy steps below, whether planting into containers or straight into the ground.
STEP 1 To plant using our planting kits, put 10cm of good compost on the bottom of each bag/pod/ pot, then place 5 tubers of each variety you want to grow, spaced out evenly on the top. Add a further 10cm or so of compost to cover and firm down, adding a sprinkling of potato fertiliser to encourage growth. If you are planting direct into the ground, dig a trench about 20cm deep and plant the tubers at the bottom. In both cases, water in well.
STEP 2 After a month or so, leaves will emerge from the top of the compost. Add sufficient compost to bury these leaves and a little more, then leave them to grow again. Repeat this process until the container is full then allow them to grow for another 5-6 weeks. For potatoes grown in the ground, ‘earth up’ by covering them as the leaves grow, building up into a ridge about 15cm above ground level. The more stem you cover with soil, the heavier the crop will be.
STEP 3 Water and feed all potatoes well in dry spells. Once your container is full, between June & September depending on the varieties you’ve planted, and usually once the plant begins to flower, you’re ready to harvest! Simply pull your plants out of the container to reveal your fresh, tasty potatoes.
EARLY SEASON POTATOES Early season potatoes are the perfect choice if you want to grow smaller new potatoes and if you don’t have a lot of space as they can easily be grown in pots and containers. Plant from late January up until the end of May for a harvest roughly 8-10 weeks later. Wait until the flowers open or buds drop, then the tubers will be ready to harvest. An early such as our seed potato ‘Swift’ are fast growing (it’s all in the name!) and ‘Swift’ in particular has a magnificent flavour. A heavy yielder of good sized tubers, ‘Swift’ is one of the best potatoes for growing in patio pots and containers, but will do equally well in garden or allotment.
MAINCROP POTATOES Maincrop potatoes will produce larger potatoes than earlies that are perfect for roasting and baking. They can be planted any time from January onwards until the end of May for crops about 16-20 weeks later. Depending on when you’ve planted them, they should be ready to harvest between July and October. Maincrop varieties are perfect for growing in the ground where they have a bit more space but are just as happy grown in pots and containers. One of our most popular varieties, ‘Desiree’ is brilliant for growing your own. Simply delicious and highly versatile, ‘Desiree’ is a great allround variety that can be made into chips, roasties, jackets or just boil them up and smother in butter! Heavy cropping and easy to grow, it’s not hard to see why ‘Desiree’ is so popular.
SALAD POTATOES Known for their waxy flesh and unique nutty flavour, salad potatoes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and their versatility and relatively quick cropping habit makes them ever so popular. Plant from January until the end of May for harvesting from July to October. ‘Charlotte’ is probably the Number 1 new potato variety grown in UK gardens – it produces great yields of delicious, medium-sized tubers that are perfect in potato salads, hot or cold, or boiled new potatoes dripping in melted butter. Easy to grow in containers or straight into the ground, ‘Charlotte’ has good resistance to blight and scap, so you’ll get consistent crops of delicious spuds!
YOUGARDEN POTATOES There are so many potatoes to choose from that suit different gardens and different needs so we’ve selected the best of the best that will suit any garden and any need! Whether you want a quick cropper to turn into potato salad, or a longer cropping baked spud, they’re all just as easy to grow and look after and are guaranteed to give great results, and taste. The best thing is, you don’t even need a garden – you can grow in a bag or a pot on a patio, balcony or terrace. Make sure you pick a light, warm and sunny spot in your garden to plant them and that you have a good supply of potato fertiliser to ensure even greater yields. When your seed potatoes arrive, stand them up in an egg box in a cool, light room so they can begin shooting or ‘chitting’ as it is known. ‘Chitting’ is simply the process of allowing your tubers to grow shoots on before planting them which will encourage faster growth and heavier yields. Leave them for 3-4 weeks and wait for short, dark shoots to emerge – take care not to damage these when handling or planting! Now that you’re ready to get planting, just follow the three easy steps below, whether planting into containers or straight into the ground.
STEP 1 To plant using our planting kits, put 10cm of good compost on the bottom of each bag/pod/ pot, then place 5 tubers of each variety you want to grow, spaced out evenly on the top. Add a further 10cm or so of compost to cover and firm down, adding a sprinkling of potato fertiliser to encourage growth. If you are planting direct into the ground, dig a trench about 20cm deep and plant the tubers at the bottom. In both cases, water in well.
STEP 2 After a month or so, leaves will emerge from the top of the compost. Add sufficient compost to bury these leaves and a little more, then leave them to grow again. Repeat this process until the container is full then allow them to grow for another 5-6 weeks. For potatoes grown in the ground, ‘earth up’ by covering them as the leaves grow, building up into a ridge about 15cm above ground level. The more stem you cover with soil, the heavier the crop will be.
STEP 3 Water and feed all potatoes well in dry spells. Once your container is full, between June & September depending on the varieties you’ve planted, and usually once the plant begins to flower, you’re ready to harvest! Simply pull your plants out of the container to reveal your fresh, tasty potatoes.
EARLY SEASON POTATOES Early season potatoes are the perfect choice if you want to grow smaller new potatoes and if you don’t have a lot of space as they can easily be grown in pots and containers. Plant from late January up until the end of May for a harvest roughly 8-10 weeks later. Wait until the flowers open or buds drop, then the tubers will be ready to harvest. An early such as our seed potato ‘Swift’ are fast growing (it’s all in the name!) and ‘Swift’ in particular has a magnificent flavour. A heavy yielder of good sized tubers, ‘Swift’ is one of the best potatoes for growing in patio pots and containers, but will do equally well in garden or allotment.
MAINCROP POTATOES Maincrop potatoes will produce larger potatoes than earlies that are perfect for roasting and baking. They can be planted any time from January onwards until the end of May for crops about 16-20 weeks later. Depending on when you’ve planted them, they should be ready to harvest between July and October. Maincrop varieties are perfect for growing in the ground where they have a bit more space but are just as happy grown in pots and containers. One of our most popular varieties, ‘Desiree’ is brilliant for growing your own. Simply delicious and highly versatile, ‘Desiree’ is a great allround variety that can be made into chips, roasties, jackets or just boil them up and smother in butter! Heavy cropping and easy to grow, it’s not hard to see why ‘Desiree’ is so popular.
SALAD POTATOES Known for their waxy flesh and unique nutty flavour, salad potatoes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and their versatility and relatively quick cropping habit makes them ever so popular. Plant from January until the end of May for harvesting from July to October. ‘Charlotte’ is probably the Number 1 new potato variety grown in UK gardens – it produces great yields of delicious, medium-sized tubers that are perfect in potato salads, hot or cold, or boiled new potatoes dripping in melted butter. Easy to grow in containers or straight into the ground, ‘Charlotte’ has good resistance to blight and scap, so you’ll get consistent crops of delicious spuds!
