How do I grow potatoes?
To grow potatoes you need to start with seed potatoes. Confusingly these are not seeds at all, but specially prepared tubers that are in fact potatoes. Don’t be tempted to try to grow potatoes from the leftover spuds from the supermarket; there are several serious potato diseases that can be transferred to your garden if you take this route. It is better to buy virus free seed potatoes early in the season, in January and February, check out what’s on offer at the garden centre as you can usually buy them loose and you will save a fortune on postage. How many to buy If you just want to try growing a planter or two of potatoes for the first time then buy three potatoes for each planter as a guide. If you have more space then bear in mind that potato plants brazilian diet pills need to be between 12 and 18 inches apart and you need to leave at least 18-24inches between rows, so work out what you’ve got room for and buy a variety so you can compare results. Look for disease resistant strains to keep pest and disease management to a limit. What to buy Unless you are going to grow enough potatoes to feed your family all year then the best types to grow are called first earlies. This is because they are the first to be planted and are the earliest to crop. These are not really Maincrop potatoes but if you grow several plants you can leave them in the soil longer to mature. Early potatoes crop when potatoes are the most expensive in the shops, so the idea is that you grow something that will save you some money and that tastes good.