First Early, Second Early & Maincrop
Potato Must Have Collection is the ultimate spud-lovers selection. Providing you with potatoes from early summer onwards it includes the best loved varieties, catering for every potato taste from spring salad spuds to Christmas roast tatties. Enjoy! Height and spread: 60cm (24").
Potato Must Have Collection comprises:
- Desiree (Maincrop) – The world’s most popular red skinned potato.
- King Edward (Maincrop) – An absolute classic, perfect for fluffy mash and crispy roasts.
- Charlotte (Second Early) – A popular salad variety, producing good crops of medium sized oval tubers that are waxy when young and perfect hot or cold.
- Maris Peer (Second Early) - Superb flavour and won’t disintegrate on cooking.
- Pentland Javelin (First Early) - Lovely soft waxy-textured new potato with white skins and flesh.
Plant your seed potatoes according to their season. First Earlies from the end of February, and Second Earlies/Maincrops from March. Prior to planting, 'chit' the seed potatoes by setting them out in a cool, bright position (10C/ 50F) to allow them to sprout.
When growing potatoes in the ground avoid planting in soil where potatoes have grown for two years in succession to reduce the risk of disease. Prepare the planting area in a sheltered position in full sun on moist well drained soil. Dig in plenty of well-rotted manure. Plant potatoes in rows at a spacing of 30cm (12"). Rows should be set out 60cm (2') apart. Place the seed potatoes into 10cm (4") deep trenches and backfill the soil to refill the trenches. When shoots reach 20cm (8"), mound up soil around the shoots leaving just a few cm showing. Repeat this process after a further 3 weeks.
Where space is limited, try growing potatoes in potato bags on the patio. Fill an 8-litre potato bag to just below the top of the bag with good quality compost mixed with some well-rotted manure. Carefully plunge a single chitted potato tuber into the compost with the shoots pointing upwards at a depth of 12cm (5") from the soil surface. Place the bags in a sunny position and water regularly to keep the compost moist.
