| The potato originated in southern
Peru and were first domesticated there between 3000 BC and 2000 BC.
English privateer Francis Drake introduced potatoes into England in 1580. |
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| Potatoes are one of the best crops for cleaning and
improving poor soil. |
| Potato are
grouped according to their season of harvest - earlies,
second earlies and main crop. Early varieties are lower
yielding, require less space, and escape many summer
pests & diseases. |
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| Chitting |
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| Chitting
your seed potatoes gives you an early start and extends the
growing season giving you a larger crop. Is is always better
to buy seed potatoes from suppliers rather than use shop
bought, seed potatoes from reputable suppliers are virus free.
It is possible to use small shop bought potatoes but do not
grow them for more than one season. Choose potatoes for seed
that are about the size of a hens egg. |
| Earlies
- Chit your seed potatoes as soon as they are available in
late winter - early spring. |
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|
Treat seed tubers
carefully. Place them in a clean box or tray - old egg boxes are ideal -
with the 'rose' end (the end where the tiny buds can be seen) upwards.
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| Keep in a
light, dry, frost free place, out of direct sunlight until you see
tiny shoots appear for about 4-6 weeks or until shoots are between 1 -2cm.
This
process, known as 'chitting', encourages the tubers to produce strong,
sturdy sprouts, and gives an earlier maturing crop. Tubers can safely stay
in their trays for a couple of weeks until planting conditions are right. |
| Ideally
you want three strong buds, if your potato produces more than
this rub off the excess buds with your thumb. |
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| Planting |
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|
Potatoes can be
grown in practically any soil type, as well as potato
barrels, growing
bags and potato
patio planters. |
| Choose a sunny spot if possible and
avoid frost pockets. |
| Dig over the soil the previous autumn
and add peat, compost, manure or potato
fertiliser.
A dusting of fertiliser in the hole at planting time increases the crop. |
| Plant early potatoes in
April, 15" apart, 18" between rows - 4" to 5" deep. |
| Plant
main crop later in the month 15" apart, 24" between
rows - 4" to 5" deep. |
|
| Planting
Precautions... |
| Wireworm
Problems - Before planting rake in a wireworm insecticide. This problem regularly occurs
in newly dug grassland. |
| Potato
Blight - Use crop rotation, do not use shop bought
potatoes. For prevention use Bayer
Disease Fungicide. |
|
| Care |
|
| If there is a danger of frost when the
shoots have begun to emerge draw a little soil over them for
protection. |
| Earthing
Up - When the haulm
(plant) is 9" to 12"
high, earth up soil around the plants as growth proceeds. This protects the tubers
and prevents them from turning green, resulting in a bitter taste. |
| Water in dry weather, this is very
important once the tubers have started to form. |
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| Harvesting |
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|
With early
potatoes wait until the flowers are fully open. Carefully remove soil
from a small part of the ridge and examine your tubers. They can be
harvested as new potatoes when they are as big as hens eggs.
|
| With main
crops for storage cut off the haulm once the foliage has
turned brown and the stems have withered. After removing
the foliage wait for 10 days - then lift the roots and
let the tubers dry for several hours. |
| Place them in
a wooden box or hessian
sack and store in a dark, frost free,
cool environment like your garage or shed. They should
keep until spring. |
|
| When harvesting make sure all tubers
are removed from the soil, this helps to prevent attack from pests
& diseases. |
| Storage Tips:
When
lifting in early October take care not to damage the tubers. Allow 2 hours
to dry and store in a cool, ventilated area in the dark. Store using hessian
potato sacks. |
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