Seed Potatoes - Charlotte

A latish first early, producing good crops of medium sized oval tubers that are waxy when young and perfect hot or cold. Good blight and scab resistance. Great beginner variety. Colour - pale yellow. Shape - long oval. New, boil, steam or saute. Salad Type. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner.

Quality Control - following inspection our seed potatoes receive a certification number (see bag label). They are size graded within riddle size 35mm x 60mm to achieve the ideal size, although shape will vary due to season and variety. A final visual examination takes place prior to packing. Note: a 1kg pack of a typical variety should contain over 10 tubers.

All our seed potatoes are Safe Haven certified.

Order Despatch - Potatoes are sent separately, in specially secure cartons, and will be despatched from December onwards, weather permitting. Please note that we monitor weather conditions daily during critical periods and do not despatch when frosty periods are forecast.

We secure the earliest, freshest lifted tubers to start our potato despatches in December, ensuring the best quality stock for our customers. We recommend storing in a cool, dark place until ready to chit.

Planting Potatoes are easy! They will yield a worthwhile crop under a wide range of conditions. Traditional winter digging incorporating well-rotted farmyard manure and trenching in more manure or fertiliser in spring undoubtedly produces the best crop but is very hard work! Why not try for reasonable yields with less effort? Loams and light soils don’t need digging. Natural organic manures or composts can be placed in contact with the seed potatoes in a shallow trench. High potash chemical fertiliser can be placed on the surface after the tubers have been buried using a trowel or a bulb planter. A potato fertiliser can be raked into the soil during seed bed preparations. Plant early varieties 7–10cm (3–4") deep, 30cm (12") apart, and about 45cm (18") between rows. Second earlies generally need a little more space while main crop varieties are traditionally planted 37cm (15") apart with 67cm (27") between rows. Large varieties like King Edward benefit from even more room, up to 45cm (18") apart. Lightly fork between the rows to loosen the soil. If planting salads and you like a lot of smaller potatoes then plant closer together, only 25cm (10") apart. For high yielding maincrop potatoes a wider drill of approximately 75cm (30") will ensure minimal exposure to light and consequential greening.

Growing - Earth up the rows 2 or 3 times using a rake or draw hoe before the foliage gets too extensive. This provides enough soil cover to prevent tuber greening and is very effective in controlling weeds. Water well in long dry spells this is especially important when the tubers are swelling. If you water 10 days after emergence when the tubers are forming you minimise the risk of blight. It is important not to over water.

Harvesting - Earlies are ready 9–12 weeks from planting. Open flowers, if present, indicate that the first tubers are present underneath. Main crops take 14 weeks or more to mature. After natural die-back (or the removal of the foliage if blight has taken hold) leave the potatoes for 2–3 weeks in the ground to set firm skin ready for storage. As soon as skin is set lift the crop because the underground slugs are usually at their most active at the end of the season. The best test for size is to scrape away some soil. Start using when small for the delicious early potato flavour. Kids love small potatoes!