If you’ve read my article about chitting main crop potatoes, you’ll probably see that they have well and truly sprouted. Just after storm Katie hit we were blessed with a fantastic bout of sunshine – no better time to get the main crop potatoes in.
I had 28 potatoes to plant in total, which means that when I planted them 10cm deep and 25cm apart, I had enough for 4 rows, spaced around 60cm apart – much like the first early potatoes I planted a couple of weeks back. Maris Piper potatoes are the nation’s favourite potato and I’ve put together a little bit of a brief history on them here.
When the shoots start to poke through, I’ll cover these with sifted soil to protect them from the frost. I’ll have to Weed between the rows and keep the potato plants well watered over the next 15 weeks.
Early maincrop varieties can be harvested approximately 15 weeks from planting, which is around the time when the foliage begins to turn yellow and die back – ready for those all important roast dinners in the winter.
Talking of which, if you need advice on how to create the perfect roast spud that is lovely and soft on the inside and golden and crunchy on the outside, then click here. Potatoes are generally a great thing to plant at an allotment as they clean the ground – what I mean about that is, they’re a good crop to have in a spot that hasn’t been dug over for a while, as you plant potatoes and dig over the land, you’ll inevitably pick out and dispose of any materials that shouldn’t be there.
Main Crop Potatoes also store well once they’ve been properly dried out.
Leave a Reply