First off: A seed potato is not a seed but a tuber. They’re only called Seed potatoes because we use them to “seed” the soil and grow new potatoes. Potatoes are one of the easiest and most productive backyard crops. Plant in late winter to early spring, but if you are planting early remember that potatoes are susceptible to frost, so once their tops have come up, they will need protection on frosty nights.
Where do you grow Seed potatoes?
You can grow Seed potatoes practically anywhere, so if you don't have garden don't worry. You can harvest beautiful and tasty seed potatoes even on a small patio or balcony and here is how:
Container growing
A large pot, big buckets or a cylinder of fine-mesh chicken wire all count as containers. Provide a 20cm bed of soil to put your spuds on, and layer as above, using any mixture of soil, straw, compost mix etc., keeping in mind to balance straw and compost mix to provide good nutrition. The advantage here is that you can easily keep covering the tops as they appear right to the top of the pot, maximizing your harvest.
In-ground growing
Dig 20cm deep trenches into loose organic matter-rich soil, and drop a spud chunk in every 40cm. Rake the soil back over to cover, top the whole area with a 5cm layer of good quality manure or compost mix. Cover with a 2cm layer of straw mulch and water well. Once the tops are up, usually in about 3 weeks, you can either hill up the soil from between the rows to cover them, topping with another layer of straw to prevent the soil washing away, or simply cover the whole lot with more straw mixed with some more manure (instead of manure you could use compost mixed.
When to plant Seed potatoes?
Plant in late winter to early spring, but if you are planting early remember that potatoes are susceptible to frost, so once their tops have come up, they will need protection on frosty nights.
When to harvest Seed potatoes?
Harvest your potatoes once the plants have started to yellow and wither (14-16 weeks) – this is essential if you want to store them, as their skins will have reached full thickness by then. Otherwise you can have a sneaky feel around in growing medium, and gently pull out a few early ones after 10 weeks or so.
Everything you need to harvest the best Seed potatoes at Horticentre
At Horticentre we have a wide range of only the best quality seed potatoes. But we also have all the pots, compost mix and other accessories you might need. On top of that our experts can help you with any question you might have! Come visit us in Overton or have a look in our webshop!
