Get started with your potatoes
Chitting
From March, chit your potato tubers in a bright room with a temperature of 10-15 degrees Celsius. Over the coming weeks, they will develop sprouts. When chitting your potatoes, you can place them in egg cartons, for example.
Soil warming, planting season
Spring soil temperatures can vary greatly. If the soil temperature is a bit too cold when you are about to plant your potatoes, you can ensure a slightly higher soil temperature by laying a layer of clear plastic over the soil about two weeks before planting the tubers.
Planting
The earliest potato varieties can be planted as early as the end of March, while mid-season and late varieties only need to be planted in April.
Plant your potato tubers 10 cm deep with the sprouts facing upwards. The distance between tubers should be 30 cm, and the distance between rows should be 50 cm.
Earthing up
When potatoes are exposed to light, the tubers turn green. Green potatoes should not be eaten as they are poisonous. We therefore recommend that potatoes are planted at a good depth and earthed up with loose soil.
Harvesting
As a rule of thumb, potato tubers are said to be ready when the potato plant has flowered. You can dig up the plant and assess whether the potatoes are the right size. Most potato varieties can also be eaten small.
Care and maintenance of potatoes
Weeds
Potato plants grow quickly, so there is rarely much weed between the potato plants. However, weeds may occur, but these can simply be removed by hand.
Fertilisation
Potato plants do not need fertiliser, as fertiliser produces green tops and not many potato tubers. The potato bed should be fertilised in the autumn. This can be in the form of compost.
Avoid potato diseases
You can avoid potato diseases by growing potatoes in a new spot in the garden each year.
Harvest in a potato grow bag
You can also grow potatoes on your balcony, on your patio or wherever you like. Use the smart potato pots, where the inner pot is equipped with "windows" so you can see how the plant's roots and tubers develop. Carefully break off the largest tubers and put the pots back together, so the potato stems will continue to produce new tubers.
How to do it
Place three potatoes in each pot with Home & Garden Plant Starter. Check if the potatoes are ready for harvest by lifting the inner pot. Pick the potatoes that are big enough and let the small ones continue to grow. If you plant pre-sprouted potatoes, you can harvest new potatoes after only 8 weeks, given a warm location and regular watering.
Tip
Plant the potato in a half-filled pot and add more soil as the plant grows. Remember to add new soil to the pots every year. We recommend Home & Garden Potting Soil. You can grow organically in the soil from Home & Garden Plant Bag.
