Rotation

Potatoes have a fairly wide range of minor pests and one or two major pests. Reasonable rotation of crops in the garden is important to keep the pest numbers down to manageable levels. Pests specific to potatoes have a limited survival time, if they do not have access to potatoes. Ideally the same part of the garden should only be planted with seed potatoes once every seven years, however this may not to practical, so it is possible to go down to once every four years, although potato pests may become more of a problem.

Soil Preparation & Traditional Planting

This depends on the condition of your soil and on your physical ability. Ideally seed potatoes like well-dug, deep soils, with fine tilth and plenty of well-rotted organic matter incorporated. This is recommended for anyone who is fit and has a heavy soil. Using traditional methods, the potato plot should be cleared and dug over in autumn or winter, with loads of manure incorporated. Frost breaks the soil structure down so that tubers can be simply and quickly dibbled in during spring, when soil temperatures at over 8 degrees Centigrade. Alternatively, trenches can be dug at spade depth during spring and the bottom should be filled with organic matter or fertiliser. Some soil is then added before the tubers are placed in the bottom of the trench and then covered. Loosening the soil on either side of the trench with a fork leaves it ready for earthing-up when the plants emerge and grow.

Easy planting

Simply placing the tubers on the ground surface with compost and covering with a thick layer of mulch, such as straw, will give results. The backdraw is that it allows easier access to the crops for slug and mice. Alternatively, scraping a shallow trench on the ground, placing the seed potatoes and covering with compost will also produce acceptable results.

Spacing, depth and row width

Traditional planting distances are:

First Earlies Plant 30cm (12in) between tubers At 10cm (4in) deep
In rows which are 45cm (18in) apart
Second Earlies Plant as per First Earlies
Salads Plant as per First Earlies
Early Maincrop Plant 37.5cm (15in) between tubers
At 10cm (4in) deep
In rows which are 67.5cm (27in) apart
Late Maincrop Plant as per Early Maincrop

Second Earlies can be given more room and Early Maincrops less room, depending on the area available. If plants are too close, tuber size will be reduced. If plants are too far apart, tubers grow very big, space is wasted and weeds grow more readily. The best potato plots are those where mature plants touch without being stressed, but at the same time weeds are suppressed.

Growing Tips

Earthing-up

When the potatoes have emerged a few inches, earth up the drills with a rake or hoe. This gives the plant a better volume of soil to grow in, it improves drainage and it improves ventilation around the base of the plant. Above all, it is a quick and effective way of controlling weeds. Repeat the process as required, until the foliage is too big to allow you to continue.

Blight

Watch out for blight, which is a fungus; Phytophthora infestans. It needs very high humidity and mild temperatures, day and night, to grow on the potato plants.