Home Guard Seed Potatoes

How to grow potatoes indoors for Christmas harvests

1. Use a container at least 30cm (1ft) deep and wide, with drainage holes in the base
2. Add a layer of potting compost or garden soil mixed with garden compost or well-rotted manure. A layer 10cm (4in) thick is sufficient for 30cm (1ft) deep pots, but larger containers can be half-filled.
3. Plant one to three tubers per pot, each with about 30cm (1ft) of space, and cover with 15cm (6in) of compost or soil.
4. As the foliage develops, earth up the potatoes with further compost or soil until the container is full to within 5cm (2in) of the top. Leave a lip to aid watering.
5. Keep well-watered and feed with a general-purpose liquid fertiliser.
6. Ensure the greenhouse remains frost-free as the season progresses, as potato foliage would be damaged by frost.
7. The foliage will yellow and die down in late autumn and can then be removed and composted.
8. Tubers can be left in their pots in compost (kept fairly dry) until needed at Christmas.

How to grow potatoes outdoors for Christmas harvests

1. Follow general instructions for growing potatoes, including planting them in a trench and earthing them up as they begin to grow.
2. Take measures to protect against potato blight and slugs.
3. Once foliage dies down in September or October, remove and compost it.
4. On light soils in a sheltered garden, piling some earth up over the row where you know the potatoes are and covering it with straw to insulate tubers may be sufficient protection to store them in the ground until Christmas.
5. In cold areas, or where soils are wet and heavy, it is better to lift tubers by the end of October and re-bury them in coarse sand or soil in a frost-free place (such as a garden shed) until you need them.
6. Lifting and storing potatoes in the fridge, or in bags in a cool shed, is possible but will cause the skins to harden and the desirable, delicate ‘new-potato’ flavour and texture will be lost.

Problems

• Potatoes are prone to scab and a number of rots but this can usually be avoided when they are grown in fresh compost in containers
• Slugs and snails can damage foliage, stems and tubers underground
• Potatoes grown outside in summer and autumn are especially prone to potato blight. Those in containers indoors are not usually at risk
• Keep an eye on the weather forecasts as early frosts will blacken foliage and weaken plants; fleece protection may be needed for outdoor crops.

So what are YOU having with your potatoes this year? Side dish of turkey, ham or nut roast? Let the potatoes take centre stage.

90% of seed potatoes sold by Potato House are our own production. Each year, a few varieties are sourced from other local growers to complete our range. The potatoes are all certified seed and are of the same high quality that the home-grown ones are. This variety has been bought in for 2024.

We abide by the rules set in The Seed Potatoes (Scotland) Regulations 2015, as do all our trusted suppliers.

Have a great time in the kitchen!  Let us know what you have cooked!  Upload pics to our social media @potatohouseuk using #potatohousetoeat and #ThePotatoName (eg #shetlandblack).

Do you know we also sell seed potatoes?  If you like this variety you can grow it in your garden.  If you have never grown potatoes before, don't worry, we're here to help.