Gardening – Growing your own: Potato preparation

HOW quickly it comes around again. Potato planting time is almost upon us once more and seasoned vegetable gardeners are straining at the leash to pop those spuds into the soil. Matching their numbers is the new crop of amateur vegetable growers who, upon reading this, are shaking in their muddy boots for fear of being late with their potato-growing regime. Fear not, there's still time to source your seed, prepare them, and prepare the ground they are going into. Begin by seeking out an area of ground to play host to your seed. Basically this should be a sunny area of fertile and well-drained soil that has not grown potatoes for at least three years. Ideally the area you set aside for potato planting should have been forked over the previous winter, with lots of well-rotted compost or farmyard manure dug in at that time. This is preferable but not essential â€â€ so don't let it put you off your potato planting. Some rules can be bent slightly and you can still grow a good crop, if you prepare the land just before planting. Seed potatoes When it comes to sourcing your seed you firstly need to have some sort of an idea of the quantity you require. Seed potatoes are usually sold by weight rather than as individual pieces, so it helps to know what weight of potatoes will cover what area of ground. As a rough rule of thumb, one kilogram of seed will sow a four metre (approximately 14ft) long drill, allowing 30cm (12 inch) seed spacings. Try to source only blight-free, certified seed potatoes, purchased from a local farmer, garden centre, or online, as these will give you the best chance of growing a good crop. You can of course use shop-bought eating potatoes or potatoes you saved from last year, but you will have an increased risk of growing a diseased crop. If you intend sowing a first-early or second-early variety, then try to seek out seeds like 'Colleen' or 'Orla', as both are early potato varieties with good blight resistance. If you are going to grow maincrop potatoes (harvest â€â€ August into September), then I suggest you select a common variety with strong blight resistance such as 'Cara' or one of the relatively new Sarpo range of blightâ€â€proof strains. I highly recommend you pay a visit to the website of the Irish potato marketing board www.ipm.ie , where you will find many seed varieties and suppliers detailed, or alternatively phone them on (01) 2135410 for a list of approved seed suppliers. Chitting So, site selected, seed selected, what's next? We hold off planting to allow us chit our seed potatoes. Also known as sprouting, chitting forces the seed potatoes to produce buds before they are even planted, an encouragement that results in earlier and heavier cropping. To chit your seed potatoes, you simply lay them in a container to produce buds for a few weeks before sowing. New upright buds are produced much better on potatoes whose majority of 'eyes' are facing upwards, the 'eyes' are those small depressions found on each potato.  Many gardeners save their old egg boxes throughout the year, rip the tops off, then plonk their potatoes into them to maintain their upright position during chitting. A windowsill without direct sunlight in a cool room or garage (eight to ten °C) is a perfect location for chitting â€â€ the coolness in these areas also prevents soft stringy bud growth. Chitted in this way, it normally takes about four to six weeks for your seed potatoes to produces buds approx two and a half cm (a half inch to one inch) long, ready to be planted out in late March or early April for first-early varieties. Second-early varieties will be planted out in mid April and maincrops in late April, but all will benefit from a four to six week sprout. So 'chit' away for a while, then check back on this column in a few weeks when I will look at sowing your budded potatoes. Next week, rotation and seedbeds. Until then, happy gardening and remember that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place. As well as his horticultural writing, James Kilkelly provides a garden and landscape design service. Contact him through his website www.gardenplansireland.com or alternatively by phone at 087-2067846. Visit www.irishgardeners.com, the Irish gardening resource.