Seed Potato 'Wilja'

How to Grow Seed Potatoes

Chitting Your Seed Potatoes

Before planting, stand your seed potatoes in an egg box or shallow tray with the end showing the most eyes facing upwards. Keep them somewhere cool, bright and frost-free, away from direct sunlight. A temperature of around 7–10°C is ideal. Over the following weeks, short, sturdy shoots will develop.

Where to Plant

Choose a sunny position. Potatoes grow in most soils but prefer fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained loam. Improve heavy or sandy soil with well-rotted compost or manure before planting. Avoid growing potatoes in the same spot year after year.

Planting Your Potatoes

Plant from March to April, once the soil has started to warm and is not waterlogged. Make a trench around 10–15cm deep and place the seed potatoes 30–40cm apart, with the shoots facing upwards. Leave 75cm between rows, then cover with soil.

Earthing Up

When the shoots reach around 15–20cm tall, draw soil up around the stems, leaving the upper leaves exposed. Repeat as the plants grow. This helps protect young shoots from frost and prevents developing potatoes from being exposed to light, which can turn them green.

Watering and Feeding

Water during dry spells, particularly as the tubers begin to develop. Aim to keep the soil evenly moist without waterlogging it. Apply a suitable potato fertiliser according to the pack instructions.

Pests and Diseases

'Wilja' has good resistance to common scab but can still be affected by potato blight. Check the foliage regularly during warm, humid weather and remove any affected growth promptly. Avoid wetting the leaves unnecessarily when watering.

Growing Potatoes in Containers

Choosing a Container

'Wilja' can be grown in large pots or potato growing bags. Choose a container holding at least 30–40 litres for two seed potatoes, with drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.

Planting

Add around 15cm of good-quality compost to the bottom of the container. Place the seed potatoes on top, shoots facing upwards, and cover with another 10–15cm of compost. Position somewhere sunny.

Adding Compost as They Grow

As the shoots develop, gradually add more compost around the stems, leaving the upper leaves exposed. Continue until the compost is a few centimetres below the rim of the container.

Watering and Feeding

Potatoes grown in containers need regular watering, especially during warm weather. Check the compost frequently and water thoroughly when needed, allowing excess water to drain away. Feed with a suitable potato fertiliser, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Harvesting from Containers

When the potatoes are ready, carefully tip out the container or empty the growing bag onto a sheet to collect the tubers. Avoid leaving harvested potatoes exposed to strong sunlight.

Harvesting and Storing 'Wilja' Potatoes

When to Harvest

As a second early, 'Wilja' is generally ready around 13–17 weeks after planting, usually during July or August, depending on the weather and planting date. Gently check beneath one plant to see whether the potatoes have reached a useful size.

How to Harvest

Use a garden fork to loosen the soil a little way from the stems, then carefully lift the plant and collect the potatoes. Take care not to pierce or bruise the tubers.

Storing Your Potatoes

'Wilja' has good keeping qualities for a second early, particularly when the tubers are allowed to mature fully. For storage, wait until the skins have set, lift in dry weather if possible and allow the potatoes to dry before storing somewhere cool, dark, dry and well ventilated.

Important Storage Tips

Check stored potatoes regularly and remove any showing signs of rot. Keep them away from light, which causes greening, and never eat green potatoes or green parts of potatoes.

From Plot to Plate

Boiling

'Wilja' is particularly good boiled. Its firm, creamy-yellow flesh holds its shape well, making it ideal for serving with butter and fresh herbs or adding to potato salads.

Steaming

Steaming is another good way to cook 'Wilja'. Serve with fish, chicken or seasonal vegetables.

Baking and Roasting

Use larger tubers for baking or cut them into chunks for roasting. Their flavour makes them a useful choice for everyday meals.

Mashing

Cook until tender, drain well and mash while hot with butter and a little milk.

Guide to Seed Potatoes

What Are Seed Potatoes?

Seed potatoes are specially grown tubers intended for planting rather than eating. Each contains buds, known as eyes, which develop into shoots and eventually produce a new crop of potatoes.

First Early, Second Early and Maincrop

First early potatoes are generally the quickest to mature and are often harvested from late spring into early summer. Second earlies follow, usually producing their crop during summer. Maincrop potatoes take longer to grow and are generally harvested later, with many varieties suitable for winter storage.

What Size Will My Seed Potatoes Be?

Seed potatoes naturally vary in size and shape. Smaller tubers can grow just as successfully as larger ones, provided they are healthy and have viable eyes. The number of tubers in a pack may vary depending on their size and the pack weight.

Storing Seed Potatoes Before Planting

Unpack your seed potatoes when they arrive and keep them somewhere cool, light, dry and frost-free until planting. Avoid leaving them sealed in packaging or somewhere warm and dark, as this can encourage long, weak shoots.

What If My Seed Potatoes Have Already Sprouted?

Some shoots may already be present when your seed potatoes arrive. This is normal. Handle them carefully to avoid damaging the shoots and continue keeping them somewhere cool and bright until planting time.