Potatoes for every Garden

THEY may originate from South America, but we Brits have claimed potatoes for our own, and these days they are one of our favourite crops to grow – as well as to eat. It helps that they are pretty easy. Choose high-yielding modern varieties with strong pest and blight resistance and you’ll have very few problems.

Best results are had on soils that have been dug and improved with manure or compost in autumn; but potatoes grow well in a range of soils types and conditions. Depending on the space available – and how self-sufficient in spuds you want to be – you can either grow tubers in the ground or in bags; or, like me, you can opt for a mix of both.

Whatever you decide, you’ll first need to select from the different cropping groups: first early, second early and maincrop (see our guide, overleaf). By growing varieties