Grow Your Own Potatoes | Thompson & Morgan

Why not try something a little bit different and grow your own potatoes?

Nothing beats that freshly dug, earthy taste of your own home grown potatoes! And with so many varieties available, offering different tastes and textures, there is a potato to suit everyone. From our range you can buy potatoes for cropping throughout most of the year.

Growing your own potatoes isn't as complicated as you might think, particularly if you grow them in potato bags. It's the perfect method for growing spuds in a limited space, small gardens, patios or even on balconies! We offer some fantastic potato planter collections, which come ready to plant with growing bags and potato tubers, offering great value for money.

Growing Potatoes in Bags

Simply fill the sturdy potato bags by one third with a good quality multipurpose compost, and place in your 'chitted' seed potatoes on top of the compost
Cover the potatoes with more compost until the bag is two thirds full. Water them and position the bags in a bright, frost free position
You can top up the bag with some more compost once the new shoots emerge above the soil level and reach about 15cm (6") tall
Feed potato plants every other week and water the bags when the compost begins to dry out. The potatoes can be harvested when the leaves turn yellow and begin to die back. It's that simple!

Potato Patio Planter Collection - Save £6.47

It's easy to enjoy a tasty home-grown crop of potatoes with our patio planters, even if you've got limited space in your garden.
Each pack contains 3 sturdy patio planters and 5 tubers each of Charlotte, Vivaldi and Rocket.

Baby New Potato Collection - Save £3.35

Ideal for those with limited garden space or for growing on a sunny patio or concrete backyard.
Each baby new potato collection contains 5 tubers each of Lady Christl, Casablanca, Orla, Rocket, Swift and Vivaldi

Not sure what the differences are between seasonal varieties?

First early potatoes - plant potatoes by the end of February to late May and are normally ready to be harvested from 10 weeks after planting.

Second early potatoes - plant potatoes from March to late May and are normally ready to be harvested from 13 weeks after planting.

Maincrop potatoes - plant potatoes from March to late May and are normally ready to be harvested from 15-20 weeks after planting.

Second cropping potatoes - plant potatoes in August and are normally ready to be harvested from 20 weeks after planting. Second cropping potatoes do not require chitting. Tubers can be harvested as required in November, or left in the ground until Christmas. Cut down the foliage as the leaves wither and yellow, and protect them from frost by covering them with a thick layer of straw or moving them into the shed or greenhouse.

For detailed information on growing seed potatoes, please view our how-to guide to growing potatoes

Why not try Sweet Potatoes too?

Sweet potatoes are no more difficult than normal potatoes. Pot up sweet potato slips and grow them on in warm, frost free conditions until they are established. When all risk of frost has passed, gradually acclimatise plants to outdoor conditions prior to transplanting them. Sweet potatoes require high temperatures of 24-26C (74-78F). When growing sweet potato in cold areas they are best grown in greenhouse borders or under cloches.

Sweet Potato Patio Planter Collection

Sweet potatoes are tasty and add a bit of colour to mealtimes.
Each patio collection contains 2 patio planters and 5 slips each of sweet potato 'Georgia Jet' and 'Beauregard' Improved.

Potato Fertiliser - From £6.99

Give your potato crop a growth burst with this high potash (14:14:21) granular fertiliser.