Читать книгу The Allotment Book - Andi Clevely - Страница 58

Easy to grow and highly productive in improved soils, potatoes are an important staple on most plots and can also be used as a pioneer crop on poor or reclaimed ground. Most gardeners grow early varieties for lifting in summer for ‘new’ potatoes, and the same kinds can be planted after midsummer for a late crop (see also page 199).

Plants are raised from small, selected, certified (disease-free) tubers, or ‘sets’, which are started into growth indoors. The plants are not hardy and their topgrowth needs protection from frost. There are hundreds of varieties, many of them classic kinds with distinctive colours and flavours; modern kinds are often bred for disease- and pest-resistance or drought-tolerance.

HOW TO GROW Buy sets early and chit them (see page 135) at least 6 weeks before planting – early varieties in early spring and late summer, second earlies and maincrop kinds in late spring. Choose an open, sunny position in well-drained soil that has not been recently limed; avoid ground where potatoes were grown in the past 3 years. (Potatoes can also be grown in containers and sacks, see page 199.)

Plant tubers with their shoots uppermost, 10–15cm (4–6in) deep (the greater depth on light soils), in straight drills or individual holes (see page 184 for pogo planter), and cover with soil to leave a slight ridge. First earlies can be cloched to protect and advance growth; all varieties can be planted through black polythene or a sheet mulch (see page 122) to avoid earthing up later.

Protect the tops from frost with soil or newspaper, and earth up stems when 15–20cm (6–8in) high by drawing soil with a hoe or rake up to half their height in a uniform ridge – this stops tubers turning green in the light. Once is enough for first earlies, but repeat with other varieties every 2–3 weeks until their tops meet. Water earlies regularly throughout, main crops once or twice when flowering begins.

Start harvesting earlies when their flowers open fully and a trial scrape reveals useful tubers: lift with a fork and continue as needed. Lift maincrops when the foliage turns brown: cut this off and wait about 2 weeks before forking up the complete crop for storing (see page 206).

WHEN TO PLANT Early spring (earlies) to late spring

SPACING Earlies: between tubers 30cm (12in), between rows 45cm (18in); others: between tubers 38cm (15in), between rows 75cm (30in)

TIME TO MATURITY Earlies: 12–14 weeks; 2nd earlies: 15–18 weeks; maincrop: 18–22 weeks

HEIGHT 45–90cm (18–36in)

AVERAGE YIELD Up to 1.3kg (3lb) per plant

VARIETIES Extra early: ‘Rocket’, ‘Swift’; 1st early: ‘Arran Pilot’, ‘Concorde’, ‘Pentland Javelin’; 2nd early: ‘Estima’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Wilja’; maincrop: ‘Cara’, ‘Maxine’, ‘Picasso’