This Potato Kit is great for first time growers looking to start home growing without taking up too much space. Potatoes are perfect for all growers who want to plug holes in their growing season and topping up their staple stores.
This kit contains 1kg of Potato 'Charlotte', 1kg of Potato 'Vivaldi' and, 5 potato growing bags perfect for the patio!
Potato 'Charlotte': A late first early, producing good crops of medium sized oval tubers that are waxy when young and perfect hot or cold. Good blight and scab resistance. Great beginner variety. Colour - pale yellow. Shape - long oval. New, boil, steam or saute. Salad Type
Potato 'Vivaldi': High yields of potatoes that are lower in carbohydrates and calories than other varieties, making them ideal for slimmers! Very versatile, with a unique texture. Colour - white. Shape - oval. New, boil, steam, mash, saute, bake or roast. Second Early.
Our potato growing bags are an easy and convenient way to grow potatoes on your patio. These durable black/grey potato growing bags hold 8 litres of compost and can be re-used, folding flat over winter and requiring minimal storage space. The black and grey colouring prevents light reaching the developing potato tubers for healthy and delicious crops; and absorbs heat for a quick start in the spring. Following on from this year's technical trials, we now recommend planting a single tuber per 8 litre bag - we noted a 186% increase in yield! Bag dimensions: 8" x 11"
We secure the earliest, freshest lifted tubers to start our potato despatches in December, ensuring the best quality stock for our customers. We recommend storing in a cool, dark place until ready to chit.
Growing Information
Planting Potatoes are easy! They will yield a worthwhile crop under a wide range of conditions. Traditional winter digging incorporating well-rotted farmyard manure and trenching in more manure or fertiliser in spring undoubtedly produces the best crop but is very hard work! Why not try for reasonable yields with less effort? Loams and light soils don’t need digging. Natural organic manures or composts can be placed in contact with the seed potatoes in a shallow trench. High potash chemical fertiliser can be placed on the surface after the tubers have been buried using a trowel or a bulb planter. A potato fertiliser can be raked into the soil during seed bed preparations. Plant early varieties 7–10cm (3–4") deep, 30cm (12") apart, and about 45cm (18") between rows. Second earlies generally need a little more space while main crop varieties are traditionally planted 37cm (15") apart with 67cm (27") between rows. Large varieties like King Edward benefit from even more room, up to 45cm (18") apart. Lightly fork between the rows to loosen the soil. If planting salads and you like a lot of smaller potatoes then plant closer together, only 25cm (10") apart. For high yielding maincrop potatoes a wider drill of approximately 75cm (30") will ensure minimal exposure to light and consequential greening.
Growing - Earth up the rows 2 or 3 times using a rake or draw hoe before the foliage gets too extensive. This provides enough soil cover to prevent tuber greening and is very effective in controlling weeds. Water well in long dry spells this is especially important when the tubers are swelling. If you water 10 days after emergence when the tubers are forming you minimise the risk of blight. It is important not to over water.
Harvesting - Earlies are ready 9–12 weeks from planting. Open flowers, if present, indicate that the first tubers are present underneath. Main crops take 14 weeks or more to mature. After natural die-back (or the removal of the foliage if blight has taken hold) leave the potatoes for 2–3 weeks in the ground to set firm skin ready for storage. As soon as skin is set lift the crop because the underground slugs are usually at their most active at the end of the season. The best test for size is to scrape away some soil. Start using when small for the delicious early potato flavour. Kids love small potatoes!
