There are regulations for seed potatoes that ensure that diseases and pets are not spread. So you can be sure that commercially bought seed potatoes won’t be infected with any diseases. The spores are airborne, so can infect other plants nearby. They can also get washed into the soil, where they will infect the tubers and destroy your crops.

Planting usually begins in March for the first early varieties. Second earlies and main crop potatoes should be planted from mid-March. When digging the hole you shouldallow for around 30% increase in the pot size for depth and width so for example a 20 litre pot is 34cm diameter x 27cm depth - the planting hole should be around 44cm diameter x 35cm depth. The same calculation can be used if repotting into a larger pot on arrival. Slightly larger than a 2L, we generally use these for our garden centre plants and some amenity lines. These varieties have been proven to give good crops in containers. Other varieties you might try are: Charlotte and British Queen. Frequently asked QuestionsDimensions: 59.5cm diameter top, 42.8cm diameter base and 48cm depth. Internal top diameter 55cm. Capacity: 90 litres. Dimensions: 44cm diameter top, 31.8cm diameter base and 37cm depth. Internal top diameter 40cm. Capacity: 35 litres.

Now we come to my favourite part in this guide about how to grow potatoes in containers, harvesting them. While potatoes that are infected by scabs don’t look very nice, they are still edible, just peel them and enjoy.

40 litre stainless steel pot

As a rough guide, first early potatoes take 12 weeks to be ready for harvesting, second earlies take around 15 and main crop usually take 20 weeks. The harvesting time does vary depending on the weather, your location and the care you have given them. The good thing with containers is you can usually dig a little hole in the compost and try feel if there are any potatoes ready.