Growing potatoes is quick, cheap and easy, says Ruth
One of the easiest ways of saving money is to grow as much of your own fruit and veg as you can. Space doesn’t have to be an issue, as many veggies are happy in containers, while salads and herbs can be easily grown on a warm, light windowsill.
Growing your own not only saves money, it reduces road and air miles to almost nothing. You are in charge of what and how you grow and the results will taste infinitely better than supermarket produce.
One of the easiest crops to grow – coincidentally one of my favourites – is potatoes and this month I will be starting to chit my early spuds. This is when you get your seed potatoes, which are widely available from garden shops and garden centres from around now, and place them somewhere warm and light.
I stand mine in egg boxes or seed modules on a windowsill, and as the days lengthen and grow warmer, they will start to develop shoots.
Approximately six weeks later, the shoots will be up to an inch (2.5cm) long and the seed potatoes ready for planting.
I tend to favour quick-maturing earlies and second earlies such as ‘Charlotte’, ‘Maris Peer’ and ‘Kestrel’ because they are ideal for container growing and usually have less problems with pests and disease because they are lifted early, just 16-17 weeks after planting.
How to ‘chit’ potatoes
1 Make your money go further by choose the biggest seed potatoes you can and cutting them in half so you get twice as many plants. They will still shoot and grow strongly.
2 After a few weeks the seed potatoes will sprout. Rub off the weakest shoots and plant your spuds either in the soil, or between two and four in a large container.
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