Seed Potatoes
Grow Your Own Delicious, Homegrown Potatoes with Premium Seed Potatoes from Johnstown Garden Centre
Perfect Irish Potatoes – Fresh from Your Garden to Your Table!
Growing your own potatoes is one of the most rewarding experiences for home gardeners, providing a delicious and versatile crop that’s easy to cultivate. At Johnstown Garden Centre, we offer high-quality seed potatoes in 2kg packs, carefully selected to ensure strong growth, excellent yields, and great taste. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced grower, our seed potatoes will help you produce fresh, homegrown spuds straight from your garden to your kitchen.
Our collection includes a range of first early, second early, and maincrop varieties, giving you the flexibility to harvest potatoes throughout the season. Choose from waxy salad potatoes, floury roasters, or all-purpose varieties to suit your cooking preferences. With the right care, seed potatoes will thrive in raised beds, grow bags, or traditional vegetable plots, making them a perfect choice for all garden sizes.
Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow, requiring minimal effort for a fantastic harvest. Simply chit your seed potatoes before planting, ensure they have well-drained soil and regular watering, and watch as they develop into healthy, homegrown spuds. With the right conditions, you’ll enjoy bountiful crops from spring to late summer.
Tips for Growing Seed Potatoes in Ireland
Growing seed potatoes in Ireland is a rewarding and relatively simple process, thanks to the country's mild, temperate climate and fertile soil. Whether you're planting in traditional garden beds, raised beds, or containers, following a few key steps will help ensure a strong, healthy crop with high yields.
The best time to plant first early and second early potatoes is from February to April, depending on weather conditions, while main crop potatoes are best planted from April to May. Before planting, chitting your seed potatoes is highly recommended. This involves placing them in a cool, bright, and frost-free location for a few weeks to allow small sprouts to form, helping them establish faster once planted.
Potatoes thrive in well-drained, nutrient-rich soil, so prepare your growing area by incorporating organic compost or well-rotted manure before planting. Position your seed potatoes around 10-15cm deep and 30cm apart, with rows spaced at 40-50cm to allow room for growth. As the plants begin to emerge, practice "earthing up" by mounding soil around the stems. This protects the developing tubers from sunlight, which can turn them green and make them inedible, and also helps retain moisture in the soil.
Consistent watering is key, especially in dry periods, as potatoes require moist soil to develop properly. However, avoid overwatering, as this can lead to rot. Feeding your plants with a high-potassium fertiliser during the growing season will encourage strong, healthy tubers. Keeping an eye out for pests such as slugs and blight is also important; using organic slug control methods and ensuring good airflow around the plants can help reduce these risks.
Harvesting times vary depending on the variety. First early potatoes are usually ready after 10-12 weeks, second earlies in 13-15 weeks, and main crop potatoes take 18-20 weeks. For best results, lift your potatoes carefully with a garden fork on a dry day and allow them to dry before storing. With the right care, you can enjoy a plentiful harvest of delicious, homegrown Irish potatoes straight from your garden.
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