Spud-tastic sessions at Dobbies in Antrim and Lisburn to grow your own potatoes

Grow How, a 15-minute interactive how-to session where gardeners of all abilities will have the opportunity to learn from Dobbies’ horticultural experts is taking place in its Antrim and Lisburn stores at 10:30am on Saturday February 3.

Little Seedlings Club, designed for children aged 4-10 years old, is taking place the morning of Sunday February 4, spotlighting this humble vegetable.

Attendees can go to the demonstration section of the Antrim and Lisburn stores, where Dobbies’ experts will share knowledge on the different types of potato varieties, reveal tips such as ‘chitting’, share advice on how to care for and protect your crop, alongside gardening tips to ensure a successful potato harvest.

Dobbies’ Little Seedlings Club is designed to educate and inspire the next generation of gardeners, getting children of all ages together in a friendly group setting to learn something new.

February’s session will unveil the history of the spud and different parts of the vegetable. Children will also gain an understanding of how they grow, what you need to help them thrive, when it’s best to sow or know when it’s time to harvest, an insight into ‘chitting’ to give spuds a head start, and the varieties that can be grown. From red potatoes, yellow potatoes, brown potatoes to even purple potatoes, there’s plenty of variation.

Dobbies’ Plant Buyer, Nigel Lawton, tells us why this versatile vegetable is one of the easiest to grow at home.

He said: “From Maris Piper to Potato Charlotte, there is a wide variety of potatoes to choose from that you can grow for yourself at home.

"All you need is a potato sack or tub, filled with a quarter of good quality peat-free compost, three seed potatoes evenly spaced on top of the soil covered with another layer of compost and then water regularly to keep the compost moist.

"Your potatoes will be ready to be harvested in as little as 12 weeks.”