Samwise Gamgee maybe fictional, but his view on potatoes is certainly not – ‘Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew! Lovely big, golden... chips with a nice piece of fried fish.’ Well, I certainly agree with that, and much, much more, they are probably my most favourite basic fare. And now is the time to get going with them.
As long as the frost has finished (not quite the case here), seed potatoes can be planted and will take between 60 – 90 days until they can be harvested.
To plant potatoes, firstly acquire disease free seed potatoes (small potatoes ready to sprout), probably not from the supermarket. If the ones you have are large, cut them into smaller pieces, so that each piece has at least one or two eyes / buds.
Choose a sunny location in your garden (they need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day), with well-draining soil.
Work the soil to about 15-20 centimetres deep and remove any weeds, rocks, or debris from the planting area. Add organic matter, such as compost or aged manure.
Dig trenches about 60-90 centimetres apart. Place the seed potatoes or pieces, eyes facing upward, into the trenches, spacing them about 25-30 centimetres apart. Cover with about 7.5-10 centimetres of soil.
Apply a layer of organic mulch, such as straw or shredded leaves, around the potato plants.
As the potato plants grow, gradually mound soil or mulch around the stems to cover the tubers. Known as hilling this will help protect the developing tubers from sunlight and pests.
Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged (potatoes can rot) throughout the growing season.
When the potato plants reach about 15-20 centimetres in height, apply more compost-rich soil that drains well.
And watch out for common potato pests, such as aphids and whiteflies.
Then enjoy the mash!
Peter