This is using the Potato growing kit from Unwins –Unwins Potato Growing Bags Variety Pack Voucher code: GrowBags1111 Condition you must use the above link for this code to work Expiry: 31.09.2010

This code has been stopped temporarily but we will let you know as soon as it’s live again!

They will stop dispatching soon but you can preorder for next year!

Your potato growing kit arrives with three potato growing bags, a packet of fertiliser and your seed potatoes. You’ll need to get some compost though and additional fertiliser. Unwins sell and recommend a seaweed feed for use during the growing season.
Unwins have several varieties of potatoes available.
You’ll find the instructions included too – and they’re really easy to follow.

Put about 6″ of compost in the bottom of the potato bags. You might need a hand doing this as bags of compost are heavy. Wear gloves too! Break up any large clumps of compost and level it down.

This bottom layer is where the potatoes will start to grow. That’s why the next step is important. Once you’ve part filled all three potato bags you need to open the potato fertiliser and divide it up between them equally. If you over do it in one bag then move it around. You want all three bags to have roughly the same amount in. Mix it in – again wearing gloves.
Once this is done you can then put your potatoes in. You get 15 tubers in a kit. You should have had them on a frost free windowsill until they’ve sprouted. These shoots are the plant trying to grow! You’ll know what to look for if you’ve ever had potatoes in your cupboard at home for more than a few days.
Place them so the shoots are growing upwards. Then cover them with more compost. They need to be about 4″ deep. As they grow you’ll need to add more compost until the bag is nearly full.

Once they’re covered put the bags in their final place – as sunny a spot as possible, but near the place you’ll be getting the water from – so you don’t have a huge long trek from the tap!

Water them and keep them watered regularly. As they grow they need plenty of water, especially as they start to develop tubers.
You do need to keep topping the compost up until it’s about an inch or so near the top of the bag – leave this room to make it easier to water them.
The bags have two handles on but as they get topped up they’ll get heavier. Always get help moving them if you can’t manage it easily.

You can buy different types of potato to grow in your bags – and the bags are reusable so next year you only need to buy the tubers and potato fertiliser.
Compost can be from a sack of multi-purpose compost or even a grow bag. Growbags are often cheaper – but you’ll need about 2 per potato bag.
If you have a greenhouse then you can start off the earlies in there and have much earlier early potatoes – a true delight and one of the joys of growing your own is that you can harvest and eat them within 20 minutes!

You can of course use other containers for growing potatoes in – but these bags aren’t expensive, fold away flat at the end of the season and will last for many years. They also have handles which makes moving them easy. They are the right size for growing 5 tubers in and can also be used after you’ve harvested your potatoes for other plants. If you have a small garden then they are ideal as in winter they can be dried and put away for next spring, unlike tubs which are bulky.