NEW POTATOES UNCOVERED

Martin Fish sheds new light on growing one of the nation's favourite veg, while wife Jill serves up a dish of herby potatoes baked with tomatoes

- Martin Fish

Freshly dug new potatoes are a delight and something I always look forward to in summer. They have a wonderful flavour and can be eaten in so many ways, hot or cold. New potatoes are mainly produced from first early varieties and planting to harvesting takes about 12-13 weeks. This makes them not only a quick crop to grow, but it also means by staggering the planting you can easily extend the harvesting period over several months from mid-summer to autumn. New potatoes are also very easy to grow in the garden or in containers.

SOIL CONDITIONS

Potatoes are not too fussy when it comes to soil and if they have sufficient moisture and nutrients they will grow in most soil types, sandy to clay. However, for the best results they should be planted in a well-drained soil that’s had plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost added. This is important as it helps retain moisture around the roots when the tubers are forming in early summer and helps reduce the amount of watering.

PLANTING

All potatoes are grown from ‘seed potatoes’ which are virus-free small tubers. These are available to buy from garden centres or online from late winter into spring. To give early varieties a head start, stand them in a cool, light place for several weeks, to allow the eyes to sprout small shoots, a process known as chitting.

Planting outside is done when the soil is starting to warm up in mid-March to early April, but it can be earlier depending on where you live. Of course, if you have a polytunnel planting can be a few weeks earlier than outside. Planting can continue until the end of June to give you a steady supply of new potatoes into autumn. Plant again in August for new potatoes for Christmas (see p8).