Want fresh, homegrown potatoes for a winter feast? You’ll need to start in the summer.
Published July 6, 2023 02:47PM EDT
It may seem strange to start talking about Christmas in July. But summer in the Northern Hemisphere is when gardeners need to start thinking about the colder months to come.
This month or next, you may be sowing a wide range of leafy greens and more to see you through winter and into spring. And this is also the time to plant some potatoes in pots so that you can enjoy some new potatoes over the festive season.
Where to Grow New Potatoes for Winter
In order to grow potatoes to harvest at Christmas time, you will likely need an undercover growing area in most temperate climates. If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel, you should be able to grow new potatoes in containers as long as you ensure that these remain frost-free until you harvest them in December.
What Exactly Are New Potatoes?
New potatoes are freshly harvested young, or small, potatoes. They are not a specific variety, but rather, just younger (smaller) versions of their grown-up counterparts. They are harvested earlier in the season, which makes them sweeter; likewise, their skins are thin and tender.
Container growing is generally best unless your area is frost-free in winter. Since containers can easily be placed and moved undercover when the first frosts arrive.
I use large reclaimed buckets in which to grow my Christmas cropping potatoes, though you might use a wide range of containers, including large pots, barrels, sacks, or grow bags of some kind.
When deciding how large containers should be, a rough rule is that you will need 10 liters 9roughly 2.5 gallons) of space for each potato tuber you plant. So in a 50-liter (10-gallon) container, you can plant five seed potatoes.
To fill your containers, any peat-free potting mix will be fine.
I use a homemade mix of:
1/3 loamy soil1/3 homemade compost1/3 leaf mold
Which Potatoes to Grow
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Any first early or second early potatoes (first and second earlies refer to potatoes that are harvested early in the season) are ideal for growing to eat as new potatoes. I like the varieties Maris Peer and Charlotte personally, though there are many that you might try.
When to Plant Potatoes for a Holiday Harvest
New potatoes—first earlies or second earlies—are usually planted in spring and harvested in June or July. But as long as you can keep them frost-free, you can plant potatoes in summer for a harvest around the festive period in mid-winter.
I find that where I live in Scotland, the best time to plant potatoes for Christmas is in late July in my polytunnel. Those who live farther south or in warmer areas often find an August planting time is best.
When precisely you should plant your potatoes will depend on where you live and the date of your first frost.
How to Plant Potato Tubers
To plant your potatoes, first, fill the container to a depth of around 15 centimeters (6 inches) with the growing medium. I also like to add a layer of comfrey leaves onto which I set the potato tubers, with their shoots/eyes upwards. Cover the tubers with another 15 centimeters or so of your growing medium.
Plenty of space should still be in the container so that you can “earth up” your potatoes as the plants grow.
Caring for Christmas Potatoes
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Potatoes are generally easy to grow, but you will want to follow these guidelines to ensure success.
As the plants grow, they should be earthed up a couple of times, just as you would when growing potatoes in the ground. To do this, simply mound up the soil around the stem.Water consistently, especially during dry spells, remembering that plants in pots need more frequent watering than those growing in the ground.To give plants a boost, you can also consider feeding with an organic liquid plant feed 2-3 times over late summer and early autumn. I like to use compost tea or a seaweed liquid feed for the purpose.In the late autumn, remove dead foliage after the plants die back. But leave tubers in the container until you want to harvest them. Just look out for rodents, squirrels, or other pests that might try to get to your tubers before you do.When you wish to harvest, you can simply reach into the container to retrieve individual new potatoes a few at a time. Or you can tip out the whole of the container to retrieve all the tubers from within.
While you may also have stored maincrop potatoes ready for your Christmas dinner, there is something special about having fresh, new potatoes ready for the festivities. So if you can keep containers of potatoes frost-free, why not try growing some potatoes for Christmas cropping this year?
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