Spuds three ways

August is a good month to plant spuds in frost-free areas, ready for late-spring to early-summer eating. JENNY BALDWIN experimented with a potato grow bag, a large pot and a bag of potting mix.

The grow bag and pot gave good yields, but she says the bag of potting mix would have been better standing up. Despite this, all three are still pumping out potatoes, with only a bit of watering. If you miss a few spuds when harvesting, that’s what will happen – they’ll resprout!

1 BUY some certified disease-free seed potatoes from a garden centre, nursery or online supplier, as these will produce the best results. Choose tubers that look nice and healthy and, ideally, ones that have already sprouted. Although it’s not necessary to use sprouted potatoes for your crop, they will give you a head start. 2 TAKE A GROW BAG and roll down the sides. Partly fill the bag with about 15–20cm of premium potting mix. Place a few potatoes on the surface, spacing them 20–30cm apart. 3 COVER the potatoes with potting mix. Wear gardening gloves when handling potting mix, to protect you from hazards, including insect bites and harmful bacteria. 4 APPLY some fertiliser and water in.

5 TAKE A LARGE POT, half-fill it with premium potting mix, and plant potatoes 20–30cm apart. Cover with potting mix, sprinkle with some fertiliser and water in. 6 TAKE A BAG OF POTTING MIX and make small holes in one side for drainage. Turn it over and make planting holes, 20–30cm apart. Make sure the holes are open enough to receive water. Push one potato into each hole, cover with mix and add a little fertiliser. Water in the potatoes. 7 POSITION your bags or pot in full sun. Keep soil just moist. As the spuds shoot, add more potting mix to ‘hill up’ the plants and make sure that the potatoes remain covered, as they turn green if exposed to sunlight. If using a grow bag, gradually roll up the sides as you add extra potting mix.

8 HARVEST your crop about four months later, when the foliage has died down. This is Jenny’s first harvest from the large pot.