Seed potatoes

[longpathtohappiness]

Bought some Charlotte salad seed potatoes from Home Bargains as were on offer for 99p! Now what???......

You wait for the chits then plant them. It should say on the packets how deep and far apart, and when to plant.
You'll get better yield if you plant them in the ground, but you can grow them in tubs.
Rule of thumb is you need them in before Good Friday.

Charlotte is a good un. They're salad potatoes. I don't like the floury ones like Maris Piper.

They need a decent amount of space and consistent watering. They don’t want to be in a bog but you do need to make sure they don’t dry out.

And magically, if you put more soil over the growing leaves they will carry on growing upwards but make more potatoes on the underground stems.

Did I say don’t let them dry out?

Wait for the chits? What does that mean? They are in the shed now, should I move them?

Chitting is the process of starting them sprouting before you plant them. Lay them out on a tray - somewhere cool but frost free, and in the light - and the eyes will start to grow little shoots.

Sorry, I forgot to put a link to a potato growing page.
How to Grow Potatoes | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Solanum tuberosum 'Charlotte' (Charlotte Potatoes) | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
We are all still learning.

Take them out if the bag and lay them out on a tray in a cool light place.

This is probably a stupid question but if I buy Charlotte potatoes from the supermarket and they start to sprout, are those as good as “seed potatoes” I’d buy?

Can You Grow Potatoes From Store-Bought Ones? | Horticulture

I do it every year. Always get great spuds

Thank you!

If you want to grow other things, grow things you like and eat a lot of, and that grow quickly. (e.g. salads, rocket, spinach, spinach beet, swiss chard, chinese leaves are easy)
You can grow veg through the winter by sowing them earlier in the year - kale, spring greens and cavolo nero do well.
Root veg takes ages to grow.

If you have room, grow fruit bushes like blueberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries. They taste much better home grown.
They are fairly inexpensive to buy (about £2.50 in my local supermarket), but check that the plant looks healthy.
You can always ask others for cuttings, runners, surplus seeds or seedlings. (local SM, freegle etc)

I save the 'ends' and grown new plants from them. By 'ends' I mean the last bit of leeks, spring onions, cabbage, pak choi, celery, tops of carrots ...

This is probably a stupid question but if I buy Charlotte potatoes from the supermarket and they start to sprout, are those as good as “seed potatoes” I’d buy?

Possibly, but then you run the risk of introducing blight into your garden and that will be the end of any future spuds or tomatoes. And your neighbours.