Seed Potato 'Maris Piper'

Chitting Your Seed Potatoes

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

Allow short, sturdy shoots to develop, ideally around 2.5cm long. Chitting is useful but not essential for maincrop potatoes like 'Maris Piper', which have a longer growing season.

Where to Plant

Choose a sunny position with fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil. Where possible, prepare the ground during autumn or winter by incorporating well-rotted compost or manure. Avoid planting potatoes in the same position year after year.

Planting Your Potatoes

Plant outdoors from around mid-April to early May, depending on local conditions, once the soil is workable and beginning to warm. Make a trench approximately 10–15cm deep and place the seed potatoes 40cm apart, with any shoots facing upwards. Leave 75cm between rows, then cover carefully 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 regularly during prolonged dry spells, particularly as the tubers begin to form and swell. Keeping the soil evenly moist is especially helpful for 'Maris Piper', which can be affected by common scab when conditions are dry during early tuber development. Avoid waterlogging the soil and apply a suitable potato fertiliser according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Pests and Diseases

'Maris Piper' has resistance to golden potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis), but it can still be affected by potato blight, common scab and other diseases. Rotate your potato crops, maintain good growing conditions and check the foliage regularly for signs of disease.

Choosing a Container

'Maris Piper' can be grown in potato grow sacks or large, deep containers, making it possible to enjoy home-grown potatoes even without a vegetable plot. Choose a container holding around 40–50 litres, with good drainage. Plant 2–3 seed potatoes in a 50-litre grow sack, allowing plenty of room for the plants to develop.

Planting

Add around 15–20cm of good-quality compost to the bottom of the container. Space the seed potatoes evenly on top, with any shoots facing upwards, and cover with another 10–15cm of compost. Position the container 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. This helps keep developing potatoes covered and prevents them from turning green through exposure to light.

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. Keep the compost evenly moist as the tubers develop and feed with a suitable potato fertiliser, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Harvesting from Containers

Allow 'Maris Piper' to reach maturity before harvesting. Once the foliage has yellowed and died back and the skins have become firm, carefully tip out the container or empty the growing sack onto a sheet to collect the tubers. Avoid bruising the potatoes or leaving them exposed to strong sunlight.

When to Harvest

As a maincrop potato, 'Maris Piper' is generally ready to harvest from late summer into autumn, usually August to October depending on planting date and growing conditions. For potatoes intended for storage, allow the crop to mature and the skins to become firm before lifting.

How to Harvest

Choose a dry day where possible. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil a little way from the stems, then carefully lift the plants and collect the potatoes. Take care not to pierce or bruise the tubers, particularly those you intend to store.

Storing Your Potatoes

'Maris Piper' has good keeping qualities and is well suited to winter storage. Allow healthy, undamaged tubers to dry, then gently brush off loose soil without washing them. Store somewhere cool, dark, dry, frost-free and well ventilated.

Important Storage Tips

Store potatoes in paper sacks, hessian bags or suitable ventilated trays, away from light and frost. Check regularly and remove any showing signs of rot or deterioration. Never eat green potatoes or green parts of potatoes.

Top Tip

Only put healthy, undamaged potatoes into long-term storage. Use any accidentally bruised or cut tubers promptly rather than storing them with the rest of your harvest.

Homemade Chips

'Maris Piper' is a favourite for making proper homemade chips. Its fluffy texture makes it particularly good for chips with crisp, golden outsides and soft centres.

Roast Potatoes

For a classic Sunday roast, parboil the potatoes, drain well and gently roughen the edges before roasting in hot oil or fat until golden and crisp.

Mashed Potatoes

The pale, fluffy flesh makes a lovely smooth mash. Boil peeled potatoes until tender, drain thoroughly and mash while hot with butter and a little warm milk.

Jacket Potatoes

Larger tubers can also be baked whole for jacket potatoes with crisp skins and fluffy centres. Serve with your favourite fillings for an easy, satisfying meal.

Boiling

'Maris Piper' can be boiled too, although its floury texture means it needs a little more care than a waxy salad potato. Avoid overcooking to prevent the potatoes breaking apart.

What Are Seed Potatoes?

Seed potatoes are specially produced 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 usually harvested in early summer. Second earlies follow during summer. Maincrop potatoes take longer to grow and are generally harvested from late summer into autumn, with many varieties suitable for winter storage.

What Size Will My Seed Potatoes Be?

Seed potatoes naturally vary in size and shape, even within the same variety. Some varieties produce more uniform tubers, while others show greater variation.

Smaller seed potatoes can grow successfully provided they're healthy and have viable eyes. Larger tubers may produce more stems, but seed size alone doesn't determine the final harvest. Growing conditions, planting density and variety all play a part.

For packs sold by weight, the number of tubers may vary depending on their size, but you'll receive the stated pack weight.

Storing Seed Potatoes Before Planting

Unpack your seed potatoes when they arrive and keep them somewhere cool, bright, dry and frost-free until planting. Avoid leaving them sealed in packaging or in a warm, dark place, which 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.