It’s time for one potato, new potato

AS a nation of spud lovers, this time of year really rocks.

A plate of steamed new potatoes, dripping in butter or olive oil, simply seasoned with salt and pepper and accomapnied by a bowl of fresh garden salad not only indulges the body but also lifts the heart and soul. With a few drills of earlies in the ground, many a simple supper can be pulled together in no time.

But what exactly is a new potato? Well Sharpe’s Express, Orla and Coleen spring to mind but the general understanding is that a new potato is one which can be harvested before the skin has set which is approximately 12 weeks after planting.

The skin of these potatoes can easily be removed by rubbing unlike maincrops where the skin sets hard as potatoes mature and can only be removed with a knife or peeler. Do not confuse early potatoes with baby potatoes. Often I’m asked, when should one start to dig early potatoes and my simple answer is to start harvesting the crop whenever you feel they are big enough.

Some folk grow earlies in the tunnel and these can be harvested in early June but as a general rule of thumb, outside crops are ready for harvest towards the end of June and onwards. It is recommended to wait until the potatoes are flowering before harvesting and some schools of thought advise that instead of lifting spuds at that stage, remove the flowers so as to redirect energy from flowers back into the tubers. A good way of checking is to pull one or two spuds from below the soil and if happy with size, lift the whole plant.

Remember that early spuds are not meant to be huge and by picking some potatoes and leaving others, you will allow those left on the plant to further mature. Earlies don’t store well so only dig as much as you need to enjoy the ultimate freshness of flavour.

When digging potatoes, tease your fork into the ground at the side of the plant to prevent damaging and splitting tubers. As spuds grow, they get pushed upwards and those exposed to light will go green and turn poisonous. Make sure to earth up your spuds throughout the season.

Maincrop potatoes can stay in the ground up until October and their skins will be matured by then which is ideal for storage.

The dreaded potato blight has to be the most well known plant disease in Ireland but as of yet, there is no known cure for it. Prevention is the only way and since the disease is linked to temperature and humidity (usually prevalent from mid-summer onwards), keep tuned to weather broadcasts.

If serious blight warnings are issued and you haven’t planted blight-resistant varieties such as Sarpo Mira or Axona, you may need to use a homemade mix to combat this dreaded disease.

The first indication of blight presents itself as dark spreading spots on the top of the leaves with a faint whitish growth underneath.

If the conditions are right, these spots grow rapidly and the blight will travel down the leaf stem and into the tubers. If your potatoes do get badly affected by blight, cut back plants to within 2 inches of the ground and make sure to remove and burn leaves and stems.

Early potatoes are generally lifted before blight season strikes so this is a very good incentive for growing them. For main crops, blight resistant varieties are one of the most effective ways of dealing with this fungal like disease.