I want to grow 5 beds of potatoes: one first early, one second early/salad, one early maincrop and two storage maincrops.
In late January/early February I will start chitting my first and second early seed potatoes, initially on a windowsill, then later moving them to the greenhouse. A few weeks later I will chit the maincrop potatoes. (Chitting means putting them out in a light, frost-free place with the eye end uppermost, so that they can develop sturdy shoots prior to being planted out. I use egg boxes to keep them upright. Chitting is not strictly necessary with the maincrops, but it does give them a head start.)
The traditional way of growing potatoes is in rows; as the potatoes grow they are earthed up until the rows turn into ridges. I don’t do it like this. Instead I space them evenly over the bed and grow them on the flat. I generally plant 30 sets in each 12’ by 5’ bed in 10 rows of 3. I use a bulb planter to put them in about 6" (earlies) or 9" (maincrop) deep, and cover them with soil. As they grow they develop into a dense thicket of potato, which by and large keeps the soil free from weeds. Any big old weeds that do poke through can be simply hauled out. In general I seem to get heavier crops per square foot growing them this way. However a downside is that some of the potatoes inevitably develop close to the surface and go green. (This is of course why most gardeners earth them up.) Green potatoes (or at least the green parts of green potatoes) are poisonous and should not be eaten. Most gardeners simply throw them away. I have another use for them.
I am experimenting with how long I can keep reusing my own saved seed before my crop deteriorates. (Garden Centre potato seed is expensive, and if I can cut costs this way then it seems a good idea.) The potatoes I use for seed are the green ones.
So why doesn't everyone save their own seed? Potatoes are originally a South American plant, from the Andes, and when grown at lower altitudes they can develop viruses which affect the crop. The potato seed sold commercially is grown in the highlands of Scotland and is certified free from virus.
Last year I saved seeds from my Sarpo Mira potatoes and got a crop just as heavy and good as the previous year. I used twice-saved Sarpo Mira seed this year and again got a heavy crop. However the occasional potato has a slight discoloration of the flesh. When I looked it up, it turned out to be a disorder called spraing, which is a probem associated with viruses. Time to buy fresh tubers!
However, the losses this year were apparently small (I don’t know for sure, as I am still eating them) compared with the cost of fresh seed, so I will continue to use once-saved and maybe twice-saved potatoes in the future.
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Bed 1: First Early Potatoes In early March, weather permitting, I will plant the First Early Potato tubers under fleece. With luck we should get our first harvests in late May.
Bed 2: Second Early Potatoes In late March I will plant out Second Early Potato tubers. I like to use a waxy variety, which also serves as a salad potato. I won’t plant these under fleece but I will have one ready to cover the haulms at the first sign of frost.
Bed 3 Early Maincrop Potatoes. In mid April I will plant out my Early Maincrop Potatoes, aiming for a variety that retains a new-potato taste through into the autumn. (This year I grew kiffli, which was excellent in this respect.)
Beds 4 & 5: Maincrop Potatoes At the same time I will plant the remaining 2 beds with Maincrop Potatoes for storage.
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Sometime in September or October the haulms of the maincrop potatoes will start yellowing. This is the time to lift them for winter storage. (Although it is possible to leave them in the soil until later, this risks more damage from slugs, and in some varieties, can affect the flavour.)
As soon as the potato beds are free, I will dig them over, recovering any escapees from the first harvest, and then apply lime.
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