Potatoes, from chit to chip pan.
When to chit, plant, earth up and lift; how to spot blight, scab and the Colorado beetle; where the potato came from and how it changed history. For gardeners, allotment growers and families. Every fact is checked against the RHS, Garden Organic, the National Allotment Society, Kew and others, and where they disagree we show both.
The short version
Potatoes are a traditional veg plot staple, easy and fun to grow, producing plentiful crops in summer and autumn. RHS: How to grow potatoes The National Allotment Society calls potatoes an excellent crop for beginners: easy to grow, they help break up the soil and need little maintenance. National Allotment Society: Best crops for first-time allotmenteers
Most varieties are classed as either earlies (new potatoes) or maincrops, depending on when they’re ready to harvest. Earlies are split into first and second earlies. RHS: How to grow potatoes Potatoes are grown from specially prepared “seed potatoes” (small tubers) that are certified virus-free. RHS: How to grow potatoes
Chitting means letting seed potatoes sprout before planting. It isn’t essential, but is worthwhile with early varieties for an even earlier crop. RHS: How to grow potatoes Earthing up means mounding soil around the stems as they grow. It protects shoots from frost and keeps light off the developing potatoes, which would turn them green. RHS: How to grow potatoes
The potato is native to the Peruvian-Bolivian Andes. Encyclopaedia Britannica: potato Spaniards introduced potatoes into Europe in the second half of the 16th century. Encyclopaedia Britannica: potato
Start exploring
Grow them in a pot
In containers, early varieties are the most suitable. Use a container at least 30cm (12in) wide and deep, with one seed potato per 30cm of pot width. RHS: How to grow potatoes Garden Organic suggests five tubers in a dustbin-sized container, or one to three in a 30–40cm container or compost bag. Garden Organic: Growing potatoes in containers (A12, PDF)
And blight?
The RHS calls blight the most serious and damaging disease of potatoes. It can also affect tomatoes. RHS: Potato and tomato blight First earlies are more likely to escape blight, because the disease tends to increase as summer goes on. RHS: Potato and tomato blight More on blight.
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Potato printables
Fact-checked PDFs in A4 and US Letter, for gardeners, allotment growers, families and classrooms.
Grow-Your-Own Potato Planner & Sowing Calendar
Gardeners and allotment growers
A month-by-month potato calendar, variety planner, chitting tracker, bed and row plans with RHS and Garden Organic spacings side by side, a four-year rotation planner, and weekly job sheets from planting to storing.
Potato Harvest Log & Plot Record Book
Allotment and veg-plot growers
Record every row: variety, planting date, earthing up, first lift, weights per plant, storage checks and notes for next year, with a season summary page.
Potato Pest & Problem ID Charts
Gardeners
Clear wall charts for blight, common and powdery scab, blackleg, slugs, green tubers and the Colorado beetle, with what the RHS and GOV.UK say to look for and do. Our own drawings, no photos.
Where Food Comes From: Potato Worksheets for Kids
Ages 5 to 11, families and schools
Label a potato plant, follow a potato from seed potato to harvest, a grow-a-potato diary, a word search and a true-or-false quiz where every answer is a real, sourced fact.
Potato Colouring & Activity Pack
Ages 3 to 9
Colouring pages of the potato plant, chitting, earthing up and harvest day, plus a maze, spot-the-difference and draw-your-own-veg-plot page.
Potato History & Facts Poster Set
Classrooms, allotment huts and home
Poster pages: the potato timeline from the Andes to 2025, the parts of a potato plant, early or maincrop, and the potato in the First World War at Kew.
Best valueThe Complete Potato Printables Bundle
All six packs plus a bundle guide, A4 and US Letter, in one download. $12.99 instead of $26.44 bought separately.