What to do THIS WEEK
On your fruit & veg plot
You can grow a new crop in a pot or an old compost bag
Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow on a sunny patio and well worth a try. While it’s not possible to grow a large harvest in a restricted area, you can certainly raise a useful and tasty crop in a few bags or pots kept within easy reach of your kitchen.
There are many advantages to growing potatoes in bags. You can make an early start because you can keep the bags in a frost-free place at the start. Being in bags of fresh compost, the crops are unlikely to be affected by any soil pests and diseases. Plus, the tubers can be harvested over a long period, a few at a time, leaving the rest to mature – and they will be much cleaner than when grown in soil.
You can buy potato pots or growing kits but an old 60-70 litre compost bag works just as well. You’ll also need fresh compost and some seed potatoes. Most garden centres sell large bags of these that could be shared with gardening friends, as well as packs with just eight to 10 tubers in, which is enough to plant up four or five bags. Early and second early potatoes are the most popular choice because they crop quickly and are less prone to potato blight because they are harvested before it strikes.
