The smallest new potatoes are the tastiest but at the same time they are the least productive. It’s up to you to balance the taste against the size of the potato. First early potatoes crop over a period of about 30 days. While it’s not essential, you may want to chit (or pre-sprout) your seed potatoes two to four weeks before planting. To chit your potatoes, lay them in a single layer in a warm spot with indirect light. A good way to prevent rot during this stage is to place your potatoes in egg boxes or seed trays. Once your potatoes put out shoots that are 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, they are ready to plant. The difficult part is knowing when to start harvesting. This depends on the type and variety of potato and also the weather conditions throughout the growing season. Our advice, hints and tips below will tell you exactly when to harvest your potatoes.

The Anya potato won’t win a beauty contest, but it tastes great, kind of nutty, with a waxy flesh. Great for boiling primarily but also nice for roasting. Everyone knows the Maris Piper. In every supermarket and the most widely grown maincrop potato in the UK. Firm and creamy, with yellow skin. Situate your bags in full sun and keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. The young sprouts will not thrive in dry soil, and during the hot summer days you may have to water several times in one day to prevent dry out. The plant should grow vigorously and blossom during the summer.In terms of harvesting, Maincrops are typically harvested in late summer or autumn. Early varieties which are typically harvested from early to midsummer and are further divided into first earlies and second earlies. First early varieties are of course first to harvest, while second earlies follow on a few weeks later. If you have your grow bags inside a greenhouse, they can be started earlier and will be ready to harvest even faster. You only need one to get going but typically you can buy them in bundles of two or three. One large grow bag of about 40 or 50 Litres will allow you to place several seed potatoes which should spawn a few plants for a good yield. The best time for drying lavender is actually when it is in full bloom. It seems wrong to cut it when it is at its most beautiful, but this is the optimum time for producing good-scented lavender. Many people wait until August when it is quite dried out but this is far too late and the lavender will have no fragrance,' explains Linda Rondelez What is the best material to choose when making lavender sachetsts? Place the seed potato chunks – three to five per bag – on the surface of the soil, spacing them around evenly. Fill with just enough medium to cover the tops of the tubers. Keep the soil mix evenly moist and cover the sprouted potato greens with a compost mix as they come up. One of the few new potatoes with distinctive pink skin, not as waxy as some, a nice round shape and holds together well after cooking. It has a great flavour.

These are sold in the shops as New Potatoes and are the most expensive to buy. They do not keep well and need to be eaten within a week of harvest. The beauty of growing potatoes in containers though is that you can harvest tem exactly when you need them and pop them straight into boiling water for the tastiest New Potatoes ever. Look for a cool, dry, space to hang and dry the lavender. Ensure the area is moisture free and has good air circulation. This speeds up the drying process and prevents mould. Gather the lavender into bunches and tie it with a string; you can then hang it up in a dry area. Don't dry it flat! In Provence, I hang it up on my covered terrace. In England, a covered area or shed would suffice. It mustn't get wet or damp once it has been cut,' explains Linda Rondelez, maker of handmade lavender gifts at LinlouGifts.Look for lavender buds that haven’t fully opened as these will still contain plenty of natural essential oils and that’s what smells so lovely. Home gardeners traditionally “hill” potatoes to encourage them to produce lots of roots and hence lots of tubers. This method takes some space and there is a high probability that you won’t get all the spuds out of the earth when you harvest. Plant small seed potatoes whole, but cut larger ones into chunks the size of limes for planting. As long as a seed potato piece has one or more “eyes,” it should grow into a new potato plant. Potatoes are without a doubt, one of the most popular vegetables in the UK. As a nation, we love them. In fact, it’s our most loved vegetable. From chips, to wedges, to mash, to crisps, we’re consuming millions of tonnes of potatoes every year. Given this fact, it’s no wonder growing potatoes is very popular among gardeners. There are so many varieties of potato to choose from and grow, from all your favourites even to ones you don’t see in the shops! Did you know though that potatoes aren’t native to Britain? They were brought from the Americas by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 1580’. In the years since plant breeders have experimented and cross-bred to give us the plentiful choice in varieties we have today, literally hundreds. Some for yield, some for disease resistance, some for flavour, and some for ease of cooking.

As market gardeners, it's crucial to implement sustainable and efficient harvesting techniques to minimise waste and maximise productivity. Here are five top tips to help you achieve just that:The first thing you need to grow potatoes in bags is, of course, a bag. Here you have two choices: buying one of the different grow bags currently available in commerce, or making your own. Making your own bag takes more time but costs less.

If you want to keep your lavender flowers in a bundle, tie a rubber band around them before you cut them off. If the potatoes you remove are of an acceptable size then harvest as and when you need potatoes. There are some difference in harvesting method depending on the type of potato which are described below. Whatever container you decide to use, make sure to roll down the edge of the bag to make it much shorter for planting. Planting Potatoes in Grow Bags Using appropriate tools for each crop is essential to minimise damage and maximise efficiency. Lightweight handheld pruners work wonders for delicate herbs and greens, while shears or harvest knives are better suited for tougher vegetables. Investing in high-quality tools, such as those offered by Reag Tools, ensures a clean and efficient harvest.Jenn O’Neal from Pepper Harrow Farm agrees 'If your buds are [fully] open they are more prone to falling off when you do the drying process. But when they are closed they keep their colour and keep their buds on after they’ve been dried.' A lovely tasting potato perfect for salads. It also copes better than other varieties with growing conditions that are less than ideal. The bag needs to be filled with a good quality compost, preferably one that is suitable for growing potatoes. Most good quality composts for vegetables will do the job and it’s as easy as buying a bag or two from any garden centre. Potatoes are classified as being either earlies or maincrops. Early varieties of potato are ready to harvest much sooner than maincrops and are what we call ‘new’ potatoes. You may have noted that new potatoes are smaller, and this is why. Typically, they will have a smoother waxier texture. Maincrop varieties however are left a lot longer. They produce a larger harvest and are generally bigger potatoes. Growing potatoes at home in grow bags is a great way to grow a healthy crop of potatoes to enjoy. What makes it even better is that growing potatoes in grow bags is a relatively easy process which means gardeners of all skill levels and experience can have a go. The particularly great thing about grow bags is that you don’t actually need to plant in the ground, or even in a garden; they can be grown on balconies or areas where space may be at a premium.