Have you got yer spuds on? – Potatoes part 1

I think potatoes were the most satisfying thing I grew last year, so easy to grow and when they are ready it is like digging for treasure. The only thing I did wrong with these last year is to not grow nearly enough.

It’s time to get the seed potatoes ready, it’s called ‘chitting’, but all that involves is keeping them in a warm (but not hot), dry, airy place so they start sprouting … so basically what happens when you leave your eating potatoes in the cupboard too long! I keep mine in a tray in the bottom of the pantry, it seems to work well enough on my bag of supermarket spuds so why not. Other suggestions are an egg carton on a windowsill, they need a bit of light but not too hot. It is important that the resting spot you choose is dry otherwise you will end up with mouldy potatatoes. 



Chitting the potatoes before planting

Do try and buy properly certified seed potatoes rather than using potatoes from the supermarket, as they will be treated for diseases etc and be a bit stronger for producing lots of potato babies. I’ve got some Jersey Bennes and Agrias going at the moment for new potatoes and everyday potatoes. I might try and get another couple of more interesting varieties to go in a bit later on.

Place potatoes in a single layer on your tray/egg carton and try and get them eye side up (eyes are those little knobbly bits). After a couple of weeks they will start sprouting, you want three good strong sprouts of about an inch long. If the potato has any more than three sprouts you can just rub off the extras.

Don’t have a veggie patch? They sell growing towers and plastic tubs that work well for potatoes, especially the new potato varieties. When we were living in a flat in London we had a tiny outdoor space which was basically the roof of an extension on the flat below that was overlooked by the tube tracks. My husband grew a lovely lot of potatoes in one of those plastic tubs with some holes poked in the bottom.  Potatoes grown in containers tend to be a bit paler and thinner skinned for some reason, which is probably why it suits new potatoes better.  They are still great to eat though.

Posing with the London potatoes shortly before harvesting,
the wall at the back is the tube line.  And below is some of the harvest! 

My only warning is, that if you are planting them in the garden, choose a spot where you won’t mind potato plants appearing the following year! We were finding potato plants EVERYWHERE in the garden last year, even in flower beds and the front garden. I left a couple to grow and got a great harvest from those so that was a bonus, but unless you thoroughly dig down and out you are pretty much guaranteed to find a plant growing there next year.
To be continued ...