Keep an eye on your chitting seed potatoes, rejecting all tubers that show even the slightest sign of disease.
April is the time to start planting your seed potatoes outside in your gardens, fields or allotments.
Earth up your potatoes
Once the potatoes start to grow through the top of the drill you should then start to earth up.
Earthing up is best done with a garden hoe. The aim is to form a peaked ridge with the loose soil at the edge of the trench to prevent your potatoes turning green which would make them inedible.
This might be required 2/3 times a season
Check your crops for diseases, such as blight
The initial signs of potato blight are the development of small dark patches on the leaves. The stems may also develop dark brown patches at areas where leaves join them.
Infected tubers have brownish discolouration and will eventually start to rot.
Harvest your container grown first earlies.
Enjoy an early reward for your work and a taste of things to come by harvesting the very first batch of your own, home grown first early potatoes that have been growing in pots or containers.
Order your Christmas Seed Potatoes
May should be the very latest time to be ordering your christmas seed potatoes. Choose and order them now and enjoy your very own grown new potatoes when christmas day comes around.
Next Steps…
- VIDEO – Watch the ‘How to Earth Up Potatoes’ video guide
Harvest your First Earlies
During June the remainder of your first early crop should now be ready for harvesting, enjoy!
Earth up your Second Earlies and Maincrops
Once your Second Early and Maincrop potatoes start to grow through the top of the drill you should then start to earth up.
Earthing up potatoes is best done with a garden hoe. The aim is to form a peaked ridge with the loose soil at the edge of the trench to prevent your potatoes turning green which would make them inedible. This might be required 2/3 times a season.
Check your Second Earlies and Maincrops for diseases, such as blight
The initial signs of potato blight are the development of small dark patches on the leaves. The stems may also develop dark brown patches at areas where leaves join them.
Infected tubers have brownish discolouration and will eventually start to rot.
Next Steps…
- VIDEO – Watch the ‘Is it Blight?’ video guide
Harvest your Second Earlies
By July your second early potato crops should now be ready for harvesting, enjoy!
Earth up your Maincrops
Once your Maincrop potatoes start to grow through the top of the drill you should then start to earth up.
Earthing up your potatoes is best done with a garden hoe. The aim is to form a peaked ridge with the loose soil at the edge of the trench to prevent your potatoes turning green which would make them inedible.
This might be required 2/3 times a season.
Check your Maincrops for diseases, such as blight
The initial signs of potato blight are the development of small dark patches on the leaves. The stems may also develop dark brown patches at areas where leaves join them.
Infected tubers have brownish discolouration and will eventually start to rot
Harvest your Early Maincrops
By August your early Maincrop potatoes should now be ready for harvesting, enjoy!
Check your Late Maincrops for diseases, such as blight
The initial signs of blight in potatoes are the development of small dark patches on the leaves. The stems may also develop dark brown patches at areas where leaves join them. Infected tubers have brownish discolouration and will eventually start to rot.
Earth up your Late Maincrops and Christmas Potatoes
Once your late Maincrop and Christmas potatoes start to grow through the top of the drill you should then start to earth up.
Earthing up potatoes is best done with a garden hoe. The aim is to form a peaked ridge with the loose soil at the edge of the trench to prevent your potatoes turning green which would make them inedible. This might be required 2/3 times a season.
Harvest your Maincrops
By September your remaining Maincrop potatoes should now be ready for harvesting, enjoy!
Harvest your last Maincrops
By October any final Maincrop potatoes should now be ready for harvesting, enjoy!
Prepare for next year
November is a good time to start planning and preparing your beds for next year.
With the use of a garden fork simply turn the soil over and work in some well rotted manure to provide essential nutrients for your potatoes. If you are unable to use manure then specialised potato fertilizer can be used but the fertilizer should be placed below the potato and a layer of soil, or compost put in between so that the potato roots grow down into the soil to establish properly.
The potato bed should be a trench about 4-6 inches deep and you place the potato into the trench and cover with soil so that good peak is formed.
Check your Christmas Potatoes
Ensure your Christmas potatoes are well protected from the frost, particularly those being grown outdoors.
Next Steps…
- Discover new varieties to try next year in the JBA Guide to Potatoes
Discover new varieties to try next year in the JBA Guide to Potatoes!