How to grow potatoes in the UK
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First earlies, second earlies, maincrops
First earlies are ready roughly 10–12 weeks after planting — good for new potatoes in June/July. Second earlies take a little longer. Maincrops stay in the ground into autumn for storage. Beginners often start with first earlies in bags or a sunny bed.
UK month-by-month
| Month | What to do |
|---|---|
| Jan–Feb | Order seed potatoes; start chitting (sprouting) in a cool, bright, frost-free place. |
| Mar | Plant first earlies when soil is workable (often mid–late March in the south; later further north). |
| Apr | Plant second earlies and maincrops; protect emerging shoots from late frost with fleece or by earthing up. |
| May–Jun | Earth up as haulms grow; water in dry spells once tubers are forming. |
| Jun–Jul | Lift first earlies as needed when flowers open or haulms yellow slightly. |
| Aug–Oct | Lift maincrops on a dry day; cure and store in the dark. |
Scotland note: Delay planting until the soil has warmed and dried enough to crumble. Frost pockets are common in Moray glens — keep fleece handy in April and May.
Planting
Plant tubers about 10–15 cm deep, sprouts up, in trenches or holes. Space earlies ~30 cm apart in rows 60 cm apart; maincrops ~40 cm apart in rows 75 cm apart. In bags, plant one or two tubers in quality compost and earth up as growth appears.
Care and problems
- Earth up to stop light greening tubers and to increase yield.
- Rotate beds year to year where possible; avoid planting on ground that had potatoes or tomatoes recently if blight or eelworm is a known issue.
- Blight blackens leaves in humid summers — cut infected haulms to ground level and wait a fortnight before lifting if tubers are still sound.
Harvest and store
Use a fork well away from the stems. Allow skins of storage potatoes to set (leave a fortnight after cutting haulms if blighted). Store in paper or hessian in a cool, dark, frost-free place — not sealed plastic.