Field to Fork – Growing a Healthy Food

There are nearly 3,000 potato growers in Great Britain, all passionate about providing a quality product that ends up on your plate. Around 6,000,000 tonnes of potatoes are produced each year and a lot of work goes into caring for the crop.

Producing Potatoes for Healthy Meals

Preparing the ground for a healthy foodPreparation
The ground and specially grown ‘seed potatoes’ are prepared before planting. Destoners plough the soil, removing debris and heaping the earth into ridges. The ‘seed potatoes’ are placed in chitting sheds so that chits (shoots) form.

 

Planting potatoes for a quick and tasty mealPlanting
Planting time is dependent on the type of crop to be grown; earlies, second earlies or maincrop. A planter is used to place them into the loose soil of the ridges. Growers calculate the optimum distance between seed potatoes depending on the variety and size of potato they want to grow e.g. a salad or baking potato.

 

Growing into delicious dinnersGrowing
The potato plants then emerge from the soil, while the potatoes develop from the roots. During this time they are monitored to see if they need to be fed, watered through irrigation or protected from pests and diseases. Good farming practice is essential to ensure the quality of the end product for healthy meals, while still caring for the environment.

 

Harvesting baking potatoesHarvesting
Potato plants often flower before harvesting. A harvester does the job of lifting and separating potatoes from the soil. A single seed potato can produce as many as 20 eating potatoes. Some potatoes will be sold immediately and others will be stored so they are available all year round to be a part of your healthy diet.

 

Ready to be part of your balanced dietPost Farm
On leaving the farm they are taken to processing or packing plants where they are washed, sorted and checked over. They are then packed and labelled according to variety or cooking type, i.e. baking, boiling etc. or made into products such as chips or mash before heading to our shops, restaurants or homes to ultimately become our dinners.

 

A Potato for all Seasons and Recipes

There are three potato periods to look forward to during the year:

Simple recipes make cookery easyEarly or New Potatoes

* New potatoes have very thin skins that you can rub off
* Planted January to March
* Appear in supermarkets from late May

Second Earlies or Salad Potatoes

* Have firm or ‘set’ skins
* Planted February to May. Harvested July to October
* Available in supermarkets all year

                                         Maincrop

                                         * Have firm or ‘set’ skins
                                         * Planted March to May. Harvested September to October
                                         * Available in supermarkets all year