A hard frost last night left the garden surfaces frozen-white this morning! In these parts, (NE UK), still too cold for doing a lot outside. Saying that, winter is a busy time for gardeners. I'm concentrating on garden tidying, cleaning pots, drawing up plans for the gardening year ahead, buying seed, admiring the snowdrops shooting up and continuing to dead-head the violas planted late autumn last year.
There are lots of different varieties of spuds, (Solanum tuberosum) available to buy either in stores nurseries or on-line at this this time of year. Came across a few yesterday and decided to make a purchase and give these below a go in 2025. Last year, tried the variety 'Pentland Javelin'. Although it was a good yield, the taste wasn't as good as in previous years. So for 2025 the choice is Scottish 'Duke of York' variety. In the garden, one year of growing is always different to the next in my experience, that's how gardening and growing just 'is'.
For the first time last year, with a new garden, I grew spuds using the 'no-dig' method, obtaining very good results. Easy method to use and a useful preventative to back ache! I'm not a huge potato fan to be honest, but these vegetables are very versatile to cook with. and most of the family enjoy them straight from the garden. If you'd like to have a go, here are some 'no-dig' growing tips for 'first early' potatoes ....
How to Set up a 'No-Dig' First Early Potato Bed in Your Vegetable Garden
1 In mid February remove the potatoes from their bought container and stand them in old eggs boxes on a light windowsill. This process is known as 'chitting', when the potato is encouraged to grow shoots before planting in the soil at a later date. I'll usually start planting them late March/ to mid April, once frosts are finished.
2 Once the last hard frosts are over, make a start in the vegetable garden by marking out a rectangular piece of growing space, approximately 2 x 1.30 m. Last year I marked out a spare space next to the leeks. (See photo below). Never expose potato tubers to frost as this breaks down the sugar into starch and as a result the potato just rots and dies so always wait until the last frosts before planting out.
3 Without digging or turning over the soil, tip a couple of wheelbarrows of home made organic compost onto the surface of your marked out rectangle. This creates a compost depth of about 20 cm for your new potato bed. Use a spade to tidy up the edges.
4 Select the already-chitted potatoes and push each one down into the compost bed until covered by the compost. Plant them in rows leaving enough space between the plantings. These 'seed' potatoes (they're not true seeds but are actually 'tubers', more like 'parent potatoes'), will grow into potato plants above the soil. When planting, make sure the 'eyes', (small dark indentations found at one end of each tuber), are facing upwards.
5 Keep your eyes on the bed over the coming months and water when necessary. Once the plants begin to grow and appear above the soil just add more home made compost around them. If you run out, buy some good, peat free compost to use instead around the growing plants. The growing hollow stems benefit from a compost covering to help minimise the effects of 'wind rock', especially on an exposed site. Adding more compost on a regular basis also helps prevents your spuds turning green. Green potatoes contain a toxin, 'solanine' which can cause sickness or digestive problems so take care. Keep the stems covered as much as possible. You should be harvesting the crop in around 12 weeks, maybe earlier. All the best with your 'First Early' growing this year!
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