All you need to know about growing potatoes is covered by experts at Dobbies Chesterfield garden centre

Discover the different types of potato varieties, learn tips such as ‘chitting’, explore how to care for and to protect your crop and pick up advice on how to produce a successful crop at Dobbies Chesterfield store on Saturday, February 3, at 10.30am.

The store’s Little Seedlings Club, designed for children aged 4-10 years, will also explore the humble potato on the morning of Sunday, February 4. This 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 and the varieties that can be grown.

Children will also learn how potatoes are enjoyed from different countries and cultures around the globe.

Dobbies’ plant buyer, Nigel Lawton, 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.”

Dobbies Chesterfield is based at Barlborough Links. For further information about these events and to make a booking, go to https://www.dobbies.com/events