EARLY SPUDS

if yoU want to grow extraearly new potatoes, start them off now. seed tubers should be widely available.

for new potatoes, choose first early varieties such as Rocket, Accord, and Lady Christl, or delicious older ones such as Pentland Javelin and Arran Pilot.

To ensure the earliest possible crop, set your tubers up for sprouting or ‘chitting’. Place them on a tray — fibre egg trays are best — and keep them somewhere well- lit and warm. A heated greenhouse is fine, but a sunny window sill also works.

if you set yours out this weekend, they’ll be ready for planting around March 9. That should ensure new potatoes in June.