Potato

Solanum tuberosum, variety "Heather" from Burnets, purchased at Kings Plant Barn.

Store the seed potatoes in the dark until you need them, then place in the light to chit. Varieties can be categorised as early (plant in early spring, ready for eating by Christmas!), second-early, and main (plant by early summer) - apparently in Auckland they will grow year-round though unless you happen to get frost at your house. Once the seed potatoes are well sprouted - ie have taken on an alien-like appearance, which takes up to a month - plant 5-10cm deep, 30-40 cm apart with 60cm between the rows. Recently composted or manured soil will give the best results.

Every couple of weeks as they grow you need to keep covering up the lower leaves and shoots with soil - it's these shoots that produce potatoes and the potatoes themselves can't be exposed to the light. Water regularly, particularly as the plants flower. After flowering the plants will die back, and the potatoes are then ready to be dug up. If dug up while still flowering the potatoes should be eaten immediately, but for optimal storage you should wait until the plant has completely died down. The early varieties will take around 12 weeks, and the main varieties 16 to 20 weeks. Let freshly-dug potatoes dry on the ground for a few hours before storing in the dark.

Today I planted a row along the back fence, tucked behind the orange tree where only the cat goes. Turns out there wasn't much space there at all - only 7 seed potatoes. Others will be going in our now-superceded recycling bins - recycling the recycling bins! These might be easier as I can half-fill the containers, plant the potatoes, then add more garden mix to earth them up as they grow - hopefully they'll be flowering before I run out of height! I need to trot down to the garden centre to get some garden mix though.