Keane’s Garden Centre, Kilcolgan, has all you need to produce your own tasty potatoes this season. The centre can provide you with everything from the seed potatoes, farmyard manure, and fertiliser to fungicidal spray and protection fleece. Keane’s also has easy to use grow bags for customers who are limited in space or just want to try growing their own.
Keane’s can supply you with step-by step instructions, compost, and the seed potato ‘Swift’, which is a perfect variety for use in grow bags. The company also has a wide selection of old proven potato varieties that guarantee excellent flavour and high yield. The earliest variety is first early, ‘Home Guard’ followed by second earlies, ‘British Queen’, ‘Duke of York’, and ‘Sharpe’s Express’. Main crop varieties include ‘Kerr’s Pinks’, ‘Roosters’, ‘Golden Wonder’, and ‘Records’
It is worthwhile sprouting potatoes before you sow as this will encourage an earlier crop. Sow sprouted potatoes when the sprouts are 1-2cm tall. Choose an area in full sun with good air movement. It is a good idea to improve the soil with farmyard manure or compost and to add an organic fertiliser such as umber, all of which are available at Keane’s, Kilcolgan.
It is important to protect early planted potatoes from frost damage. Keane’s offers the great solution of horticultural fleece. Later in the season blight can be prevented by spraying regularly with a fungicide such as Dithane or liquid copper fungicide.
For more information drop into Keane’s, Kilcolgan, or call (091 ) 796660.