In Spring we like grow our own potatoes at school. The children watch them ‘chit’, plant them, earth them up, water and finally harvest them. We then cook them for us all to taste.
You will need:
Large container/sack
3 seed potatoes
Compost
Chitting your seed potatoes
Sprout your seed potatoes by leaving them in an egg box with the “eye” upwards. Leave in a light place such as a window sill. This takes approximately 2 weeks. You will see one or more healthy looking sprouts, approx 1″ long.
Planting your seed potatoes
Place 4-6″ of compost in the bottom of the container. Place seed potatoes on top of compost. Cover with compost (approximately 2″ on top of potato). Water well.
It is important to water regularly.
Earthing
When you see growth (sprouting through the compost), add another layer of compost. Continue this until you reach the top of the container.
Harvesting
The potatoes are ready for harvesting when the leaves start to die back. Tip out the compost and gather the potatoes. You should have approximately 20-30 potatoes.
Cook and enjoy!
For more information on growing potatoes in a container, please visit the RHS website.
