Growing Potatoes | Food

Date Published:: 15/10/2007

Caring

Once the first shoots emerge, you should start the process of 'earthing up' - drawing soil over them to form a rounded ridge.

Repeat this as necessary every one to two weeks until the plants are around 20cm (8in) in height.

Earthing up ensures the tubers aren't exposed to the light (which can turn them green and poisonous) as well as killing weeds and helping to prevent blight (the most common potato disease).

Add a general purpose fertiliser in mid-May and remove any flower heads or buds which appear, as they can reduce the size of the crop.

Harvesting

Choose a dry day to lift your spuds, using a fork or spade and approaching them from the side of the ridge to avoid damaging them.

Early varieties can be harvested about a week after the potato plant flowers first appear (but scrape away a little soil first to check they are large enough).

Although each plant will only produce a couple of handfuls of potatoes, they are widely considered the tastiest spuds you can grow.

Main-crop potatoes are ready for digging up when the foliage starts to die and turn yellow, usually from September onwards. You can leave them in the ground for longer, digging them up as you need them, but it increases the risk of slug damage.

Discard any spuds that are excessively damaged or diseased, or have turned green through exposure to light