Episode: 3
Title: Potatoes in the Garden
Broadcast: August 27th
Presenter: Melissa King

It’s time to get your spuds into the ground and if you live in a cooler area it’s best to wait until that risk of frost has passed to avoid damaging young chutes. Apart from the amazing flavor of homegrown spuds, one of the best reasons to grow them is to experiment with different varieties to bring different flavours to the table. Mel shows us different kinds of potato’s you can grow in your garden.

• Sea Potato’s – or Tubas – look just like small potato’s and if you’re growing them at home it’s best to start with certified seed potato’s so you don’t get a build up of diseases. Plant these roughly 10-cms deep with the potato eye pointing upwards. As the plant grows, keep raking the soil up around the Tubas to form a mound. This prevents light from reaching them and turning the potato’s green.
• Royal Blue takes the name from the hue of its skin, which fades into a golden brown when baked. They make great roasted spuds and make a delicious mash!
• The King of potato’s, King Edward has been around since 1902. Its pink skin is a giveaway. It boils and roasts really well.
• It’s worth knowing that Jamie Oliver and Heston Blumenthal class the classic UK potato, Maris Piper as one of the best for roasting and making chips. So nice and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
• Tangy Delight is classed as an excellent all-rounder. Stick him in the salad, he’s the perfect pocket or leftovers for bubble and squeak.
• Don’t forget about the Dutch Cream, another member of the creamy flesh family, lovely boiled or baked and top-of-the-class for mashing.
• Potato’s like to be grown in a spot that gets plenty of sunshine and good soil drainage. Make sure the soil has been prepared first with good compost and organic matter. If you don’t have much space at home you can always plant your potato’s into a grow bag along with some free-draining compost in the bottom.

The Garden Gurus