potatoes

Growing potatoes

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Growing spuds is a rewarding process, with each crop offering a generous yield and the simple joy of digging your own. Keen to get started? The ideal time is during the cooler months, and with a bit of know-how, growing them easy.

When you’re getting started, it’s tempting to use kitchen potatoes that are sprouting, but certified seed potatoes are far more reliable. They’re disease-free and bred for strong growth. Set your space – you can maximise your harvest by planting potatoes in towers set within the garden bed. A simple wire tower is cost-effective and makes hilling easy. Once shoots, or ‘eyes’, appear, plant the whole seed potato into compost-rich soil and cover lightly. As plants grow, continue hilling, using the tower for support.

POTATO NUGGETS

  • Potatoes were first domesticated more than 7000 years ago in Peru.
  • It’s true! Green potatoes can be toxic. Green spuds contain the compound solanine, a natural toxin.
  • Potatoes were possibly nicknamed spuds after a tool that was commonly used to unearth them.

Image: iStock

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