If you are short of space then grow earlies! The first earlies are a great treat when you can harvest them and cook them within a very short time. Nothing you can buy in the shops will compare. You also plant them closer together as they do not need to grow as much!

If you have a lot of space for potatoes then you will want to make sure you grow a mix of potatoes but include some that are good for storing. If you are short of space you can grow first earlies in a barrel or potato bag. This means you can grow them even on a patio! Chitting should be done about six weeks before you want to plant them out. So work backwards from the recommended planting date. This will be late January in the warmer regions of the UK and further north it will be February.

A potato has a rounded more blunt end. This is where the eyes are. It is the eyes that sprout.

Stand them so the blunt end is pointing upwards. Use a tray or an egg box. Keep them in natural light but in a frost free place. Frost will damage the potatoes.

You can remove some of the shoots if there’s a lot. They shouldn’t grow too spindly. You want the shoots to be strong. IF you get long thin shoots then they have been kept too warm. Shoots that are tiny indicate too cold.

Spraying the chitting potatoes with a small amount of weak feed of Maxicrop, this is a seaweed feed, can encourage strong growth.

By chitting you encourage the plant to be ready about a week earlier – so there’s not a great deal of problem if you buy potatoes late and just throw them in the ground.

Before planting dig in some well rotted compost.

Plant them the right way up, the right distance apart according to the type (30cm for First Earlies, 45cm for second Earlies and maincrop). The weather needs to be frost free and the soil shouldn’t be water logged. The plants need to be earthed up – that is, the soil pulled up around the plant as it grows. This ensures the foliage is more protected from frost as well as keeping away the weeds. When your plants are 10cm tall you can earth them up almost completely. You can do this again about twice more. If it is difficult to earth them up then you can apply a mulch of well rotted compost or even straw. Just leave the tops of shoots showing from the top of the soil.

About two weeks before you plan on harvesting them you should give them a really good soaking. This enables the tubers to take up more water and increased the weight of the potato crop. Regular watering during the growing season is also recommended.

More information about growing potatoes: http://www.gardenandgardener.co.uk/2010/01/11/growing-potatoes/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diane_Drinkwater

http://EzineArticles.com/?Potato-Growing-Hints&id=3555542