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Early potatoes

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Verwacht: half februari

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Description

These firm-boiling potatoes can be planted as early as March and therefore harvested earlier than most other varieties. 250 grams is enough for 4 patches.

Note: limited stock and gone = gone.

Specifications

Pre-sprouting: Februari to mid-March
Planting: from mid-March to mid-May
Height: 40 to 60 cm
Content: 250 grams (8-10 potatoes)

In the app

Sowing: 1 February - 15 May

Level 1

pre-sprouting

Level 2

potatoes are planted

Level 3

first plants

Level 4

little plants

Level 5

several plants

Level 6

harvest

  • Currently only shipping to the Netherlands and Belgium
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  • Sent by PostNL or Transmission
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  • The app helps you with almost everything you do in your vegetable garden: sowing, tending, and harvesting.
  • If something goes wrong, the app tells you what steps to take.
  • If that doesn’t work, you can ask us for advice.
  • If that still doesn’t help, we’ll look for other solutions together. Until we get it right.

More about about our Early Potatoes

Our seed potatoes are the earliest potatoes that stay firm when boiled. They have a smooth, elongated shape, a yellow color, and are super tasty. Ideal for salads, for baking, or in the air fryer. You can also cook them, of course.

  • Species name: Annabel
  • Family: nightshade
  • Plants per square patch: 2
  • Height: 40 to 60 cm
  • Pre-sprouting: Februari to mid-March
  • Planting: from mid-March to mid-May
  • Germination time: between 7 - 21°C in 21 - 35 days
  • Time to harvest: after 12 - 15 weeks
  • Sunlight: both sunny and half-shade

On average, one patch of potatoes yields 1.25 kg of potatoes. That is 4x as much as a potato farmer, as he harvests about 3.5 kg per m2 🙂

Please note that the seed potatoes are fresh, and we cannot store them for very long. Therefore, we sell them only temporarily and gone=gone. During this period, we also sell complete potato packages like this one:

Wat is er bijzonder aan deze aardappels?

Aardappels zijn er in allerlei soorten. 

De meeste aardappels poot je in april en mei en oogst je vanaf juli. Vroege aardappels - zoals deze - kun je al in februari voorkiemen, vanaf half maart in de mix stoppen, en al in juni oogsten. Bovendien is de kans dat vroege aardappels de gevreesde aardappelziekte krijgen veel kleiner dan bij de latere soorten 🙂

Daarnaast zijn deze aardappels vastkokend, iets wat je zelden ziet bij vroege soorten.

Let op: de pootaardappeltjes zijn vers en voor ons niet erg lang te bewaren. We verkopen ze daarom maar tijdelijk, en houden ook maar een kleine voorraad aan. Als we geen nieuwe voorraad meer kunnen krijgen is het op=op.

In de periode dat we ze leveren zijn er ook complete aardappelpakketten. Je vindt ze bij de
Acties in de de shop, zoals bijvoorbeeld deze:

What do you need to grow potatoes yourself?

All you need is this:
  • a container for pre-sprouting, or an empty egg box
  • a 30 x 30 cm square with a light, nutritious soil mix
  • early seed potatoes
  • a spot with at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day
In other words: an MM-Mini, or a square in one of our garden boxes, filled with MM-Mix.

In this perfect soil mix, growing potatoes is really easy. If you grow them in poor-quality potting soil, it becomes much harder and the results will disappoint. So do not skimp on the basics: go for the best.

How to plant and grow early potatoes?

These potatoes are available in the free Makkelijke Moestuin app. If you use it, it will guide you from planting to harvesting.

Each vegetable goes through several stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do in each level and regularly prompts you to check if your plants are ready to move on to the next level.

You don't need to know how to successfully grow potatoes in advance. But if you're interested in reading more, I'll now explain what the whole process will look like.
When growing early potatoes, you receive assistance from the Makkelijke Moestuin app: from sprouting and planting to harvesting.
App assistance: from sprouting and planting to harvesting
We deliver these potatoes early: from mid-February. During this time, it is often still cold and wet outside, so it doesn't make much sense to plant them outside yet.

That's why we sprout them indoors until mid-March. This way, they already have sprouts, the plants emerge earlier, and you can harvest earlier as well. If you receive the potatoes after March 15th, you can skip the sprouting process and start directly with level 2.

Level 1: Pre-sprouting early potatoes

Level 1: Vroege aardappels voorkiemen

For pre-sprouting, you need a shallow tray, with some kitchen paper if you want to keep the potatoes nice and dry. An empty egg box works too.

You can already see several eyes on the potatoes: some tiny, some a bit larger. Shoots will grow from these points. Place the potatoes upright in the tray or egg box, with the eyes facing up.
Eyes on early seed potatoes from the Makkelijke Moestuin
Eyes on the seed potatoes
Place the potatoes upright in the container - with the eyes facing upwards. The sprouts grow strongest at a temperature between 10°C and 15°C.

Therefore, place the container in a bright but cool place. Such as on a windowsill in the pantry or in an unheated bedroom.

You don't need to do anything else now, not even water them.
Container with seed potatoes: in a bright but cool place
Container with seed potatoes: in a bright but cool place

Level 2: Planting early potatoes

Level 2: Vroege aardappels poten

After March 15th, plant the potatoes in your bed, provided the temperature is above 8°C.

Loosen the mix in a compartment in the bed and plant as follows:

  • Make 2 deep holes in the compartment - preferably to the bottom
  • Place 1 seed potato in each hole (carefully so as not to break any sprouts)
  • Then close the holes again and give some water

Depending on the weather, you will see something green sprouting after about 4 weeks.
Plant 2 potatoes per patch: at the bottom of your garden box
Plant 2 patch per compartment: at the bottom of your garden box
Note: potatoes do not like wet feet. If you use our water reservoirs, they get enough moisture and you do not need to water from above as well. If you do not use them, keep the mix moist, but never soaking wet.

Level 3: The first plants

Level 3: De eerste plantjes

Once you see the first plants coming up, you know things are going well. Then it's time for the next level.

A potato often produces multiple sprouts. They won't all come up at once, but more will appear in the coming weeks.
Potatoes usually have multiple sprouts that do not come up simultaneously.
Potatoes usually have multiple sprouts.

Level 4 and 5: Take care of your plants

Level 4 en 5: Verzorg je planten

In the 2 months of these levels, you hardly have to do anything. Just give water occasionally and some extra MM-plantfood.
Potatoes in the 4 compartments of an MM-airbak.
Potatoes in the 4 patches of an MM-airbak
If the plants get bigger, you can support them by placing a small rack over them. That keeps the plants neatly inside their square.
A small rack keeps potato plants neatly inside their square in a garden box
A small rack keeps the plants neatly inside their square
To make beautiful, large potatoes, the plants need a lot of nutrients.

At this stage, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of MM plant food around the base of the plants. Rake it lightly into the top of the mix and water afterwards.

Level 6: The plants are getting yellow leaves.

Level 6: De planten krijgen gelig blad

The potato plants are already quite big, between 25 and 50 cm tall.

Because all the energy is now going to the potatoes in the mix, the leaves of the plants are becoming uglier: they turn yellow and eventually die off.

For potatoes, this is a good sign, because it means that the harvest is approaching.
When potato plants turn yellow, the harvest is approaching.
When potato plants turn yellow, the harvest is approaching.

Level 7: Harvesting the potatoes

Level 7: Oogsten van de aardappels

In this stage, reached at the earliest about 12 weeks after planting, the leaves are yellow and unattractive or the plants may already be partly dead.

Harvesting potatoes is always a surprise. You do not know how many potatoes have grown, how big they are, or where they are. It is like rummaging in a lucky dip: great fun.

To find them, search through the whole square of mix. It is easiest when the mix is a little dry and loose.

Be careful not to damage the potatoes while harvesting, because damaged potatoes cannot be stored. That is why I simply harvest them with my hands.
Harvesting potatoes from a Makkelijke Moestuin garden box
Harvesting potatoes from a Makkelijke Moestuin garden box
If you do use a trowel, choose one with a rounded blade, like our MM trowel, and work carefully from the outside in.

Harvesting from an MM-Mini is even easier: lay down a cloth or bin bag, tip the contents of the Mini onto it, and pick out the potatoes.

After harvesting, remove all plant remains, roots, and even the last tiny potatoes from the mix. Once you have done that, the square is ready for another crop.

Note: because of potato blight, you should never grow potatoes in the same mix two years in a row. To play it safe, skip three years.

What do you use early potatoes for?

These potatoes have a smooth, elongated shape, a yellow colour, and a great flavour.

Because they stay firm when cooked, they are ideal for salads, frying, or the air fryer.

They are at their best when freshly harvested. If you want to store them, let them dry well first and keep them somewhere cool and dark.
Cooked early potatoes that stay firm
The potatoes stay firm, even when cooked
Note: Never eat potatoes raw, as they contain a substance called solanine that can cause headaches or stomach problems. The same applies to potatoes with green spots, when they have been exposed to the sunlight for a while. Always cut those pieces away.

Dus: wat let je om zelf vroege aardappels te poten?

Good luck!