In partnership with Trust Links and East Anglia Potato Day –

And in association with Leigh-on-Sea Allotment & Leisure Garden Association and SE Essex Organic Gardeners – please make a date in your shiny new 2013 diaries and help us to promote this Spud-tastic event in February. You can Chip In, Mash it up and spread the word by Facebook, Tweeting or simply telling people and/or displaying our poster – which can be downloaded here.

SE Essex Seed Potato Day, dedicated solely to spuds (and maybe a few other items), will gear up for its third consecutive year in 2013, promising a real treat for potato growing enthusiasts! Potato Day on Saturday 23 February makes potatoes a ‘must grow’ for many a local resident’s gardening year. As a result, more of us are growing our own portion of the average 500 potatoes we eat each annually.

At the event, visitors can buy seed potatoes by the tuber and learn all about spuds with tips from the members.

SE Essex Seed Potato Day will take place at 47 Fairfax Drive, Southend-on-Sea SS0 9AG (corner of Fairfax Drive and Prittlewell Chase) between 10.00am and 2.00pm.  If gardeners need to drive, they are advised to park in Prittlewell Chase and use the Fairfax Drive entrance.

This year, we will also have a range of four varieties of onion sets: Stuttgarter Giant, Sturon, Snowball and Red Baron.

Admission is £1.00, with refreshments available on the day.

Call 01702 201914 for more information.

The Seed Potato Day poster can be downloaded here.

Thanks in advance for all your support – we look forward to seeing you there!

You can also pre-order your potatoes – further information, here.

We cannot guarantee that all we have ordered will be available on delivery – so check our website for updates at seeog.org.uk

And look out for Alan Romans’ ‘Guide to Seed Potato Varieties!’ on the day!

(o) after a variety name = organically grown

What are first earlies, second earlies, early maincrop and late maincrop? Scroll to the bottom for an explanation

First Earlies

Colleen (o),  Epicure,   Foremost,   Home Guard,   Lady Christl,   Rocket,   Ulster Classic,   Vanessa,   Winston

Second Earlies

Anya,   Bonnie,   Charlotte  (o),  Edgecote Purple,   Kestrel,   Marfona,   Wilja,   Yukon Gold

Early Maincrop

Desiree (o),  Highland Burgundy Red,  International Kidney,  King Edward,   Maris Piper,  Nicola,  Orla (o),  Paru,   Pentland Dell,   Picasso,  Rooster,   Salad Blue (o),  Stemster

Late Maincrop

Arran Victory (o),  Cara (o),  Golden Wonder (o),  Kerr’s Pink,   Peach Bloom,   Pink Fir Apple (o), Sarpo Mira (o),  Valor (o)

The terms first/second earlies, early maincrop and late maincrop are jargon from many years ago. In reality, it only describes the length of the potato’s growing season. They are in order of growing time so, if they are all planted at the same time, the first earlies are the early summer crop, closely followed by second earlies through to some late maincrops that will still grow in October given the chance.

Two generations ago, working class people found the time to plant potatoes at Easter and would earth them up as necessary to keep the frosts from killing the growth. Within each category there is variation in growing season length and local conditions will affect the length, too. It just gives you some idea of how long before you crop. Many people plant potatoes late, sometimes very late to get late “new” potatoes. Your ability to do this is governed by the dormancy of the tuber. If they begin to chit, you have to give them light to stop them growing too long before entering the ground. Chitting with light and water can give a plant a head start before growing in the ground but it does not extend the growing season. It is “prematurely aging” the potato. Clearly it is a “luxury” that commercial growers can never contemplate.