Potatoes - Second Early

Type: Vegetable

Rotation Group: 1, Potatoes and Tomatoes


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CHARLOTTE

This is a very popular high yielding variety with long yellow tubers and waxy, tasty flesh. Excellent for salads and general use. Stores well and can be used as baked, mash, roast or salad.
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KESTREL

A wonderful old fashioned taste, which absorbs less fat when it is cooking. Good for the show bench and resistant to slugs. Colour - white, blue. Shape - long oval. Boil, steam, mash, chip, saute, bake or roast.
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MARIS PEER

A national favourite with firm texture; high numbers. A familiar second early producing a large crop of round, small/medium, white-fleshed tubers that are waxy and tasty. Colour - white. Shape- short oval. New, boil, steam or chip.
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JAZZY

As normal it has large yields of over 30 small, waxy tubers per plant when we harvested. Incredibly versatile, it's suitable for boiling or steaming and eating hot or cold, or for mashing and roasting. Packed with flavour, plants show good disease resistance and superb garden performance.

Site, Soil and Preparation

Potatoes need a sunny site. Avoid planting in a spot prone to late frosts. Prepare the ground, ideally the previous autumn or winter, by digging in plenty of organic matter such as garden compost or well rotted manure.

Indoor Sowing

It's important with earlies, and a good idea with maincrops, to 'chit' the seed potatoes before planting. This means allowing them to start sprouting shoots.

Outdoor Sowing

Plant potatoes in a narrow trench 12cm (5in) deep. Space the potatoes 30cm (1ft) apart for earlies in rows 60cm (2ft) apart. Apply a general-purpose fertiliser at this stage.

Thinning

Thinning of potatoes is not needed.

Transplanting

Transplanting of potatoes is not needed.

Care

Keep the young plants weed free and well watered until established and then only water during dry periods.

Harvest

With earlies, wait until the flowers open or the buds drop. The potatoes are ready to harvest when they're the size of hens' eggs, usually in June-July.