Plassey Plants Garden Centre, Eyton, Wrexham 01978 780788

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Grow Your Own

Here's some helpful grow your own advice from Plassey Plants Garden Centre Wrexham, North Wales.

POTATOES
We have a wide variety of seed potatoes now in stock and ready to buy.

OR, BUY SEED POTATOES ONLINE at Stylish Country Gifts

Which seed potatoes should I buy?

There are dozens of different potato varieties, usually described as first early, second early and main crop potatoes.
These names indicate when they crop and also give you an idea of the space you'll need, how closely and when they can be planted.
You should concentrate on the earlier types if you're short of space, and it's also worth remembering that earlies are less likely to encounter pest problems as they're lifted so much earlier in the year.
Second earlies take 16 to 17 weeks to mature after planting, so you should be able to harvest them from very late June through to the start of August.
Maincrops are ready 18 to 20 weeks after planting, so they can be lifted usually from July through to October. Maincrops take up the most space in the garden, but they tend to be the best varieties to grow if you want some for storage.

Potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow – you simply plant one seed potato (tuber) and a couple of months later you dig up dozens! Whether or not you have space for a veg plot, you can have the satisfaction of eating your very own home-grown new potatoes from your patio, simply by filling a couple of pots or bags with compost. Follow the advice below and enjoy a healthy crop of the freshest and best-tasting new potatoes homegrown by you!

For container grown potatoes choose first early seed potatoes. Put them in a cool, dry, light place to start the chitting process (sprouting). This isn't essential, but gives them a head start when planted. A cardboard eggbox is an ideal dry container to chit your seed potatoes.
After about 6 weeks your seed potatoes should have sprouted and will be ready to plant. Plant them outside in containers during April, or earlier in a frost-free greenhouse or porch if you have one.
Take a container of at least 60cm deep or deeper. A potato bag, large deep pot or empty compost bag will be great for the job,
Fill the container to about 15cm deep with multi-purpose compost, or better still, your own home produced compost.
Bury a seed potato just below the surface of the compost.
Position your potato containers in a warm, sunny position.
As shoots grow in stages, cover with more compost until the pot is full.
Cover the young plants with garden fleece at night through April and May if frosts are forecast.
Water regularly to keep the compost moist but not wet. If the leaves start to turn yellow in June, feed regularly with a general-purpose or tomato fertilizer.
By late June or early July your potatoes should be ready. Push your hand gently into the compost and feel for tubers. Tip the contents out, or carefully remove any of eating size and leave the rest to continue growing.

How to grow potatoes in the ground
Initially, start the chitting (sprouting) process. Place them in single layer in a seed tray without compost and leave in a light, cool area protected from frost. Chitting potatoes can be started about six weeks before you intend to plant them. Early varieties (first earlies) can be planted out under frost fleece protection, but the later varieties (second earlies and main crop) should be planted after the worst frosts have passed in your area - this is generally mid March to mid April and later for some main crop varieties. Dig a trench 8 -13cm (3 - 5in) deep and add a general purpose fertiliser or well rotted manure or compost, mixed with garden soil to the bottom of the trench. Plant the potato tubers in the trenches about 30cm (12in) apart being careful not to knock the shoots off the tubers, and keeping the shoots facing upwards. Then lightly cover with soil you have dug out for the trench. As the plants get to around 20cm (8in) tall you need to bank up the soil around the plant, so the soil covers the bottom two thirds of the plant. Repeat in two to three weeks. This keeps potato roots cool and prevents potatoes from turning green. Watering your plants well will help improve crop yield and discourage potato scab.

Harvesting potatoes from the ground
When your potato plants have wilted and flopped and the leaves have started to turn yellow they should be ready to harvest. Try and pick a dry sunny day to harvest your potatoes and leave them on the surface for a few hours to harden the skin. This will help them store better. If they are coming up dirty, rinse them lightly in cool water then leave to dry on the soil surface. Store your dry potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place for winter.

SOFT FRUIT BUSHES AND RASPBERRY CANES

How to grow raspberries

Buy raspberry canes in bundles of 5 to 6. This should produce around 5kg of fruit. The canes look like dead sticks as they are cut short for easier handling.

Position in a sunny spot if you can, though they will do reasonably well in partial shade. Autumn varieties need a warm site and don’t crop well in areas where winter comes early.

Support plants by tying them to horizontal wires 0.9m and 1.5m high supported between stout posts. Or grow them against a fence or as single plants supported by stakes. Autumn-fruiting varieties don’t usually need supporting.

Plant about 40cm apart. Allow plenty of space on either side of the row for picking.

Raspberry care

Feed in spring with a balanced fertiliser such as Growmore applied at 100g per sq m, then mulch the surface with bulky organic material. Water in dry spells, especially when the fruit starts to swell.

Prune once you have picked all the fruit. Cut the old, brown canes down to the ground and tie in the new green canes spacing them 10cm apart. If there are too many new canes cut out the thinnest or shortest. If they’re too tall, curve the tips over. With autumn-fruiting varieties, cut all the canes down in February or March.

Restore a neglected patch by defining the area you want it to occupy and digging out any plants that stray beyond this – raspberries do tend to spread!

Cut down all the old canes – they will be brown and have little side branches which carried the fruit.

Check the supports and replace if necessary.

Retain the new canes, which will have no branches and are at least partly green. Tie these into the supports. If there are gaps, fill in with some of the plants you dug out.

Replace your plants if they are over 10 years old, or are cropping poorly. Raspberries should crop well for six to ten years. After this, disease build up will start to reduce yields.

Grow Your Own