Perhaps not the most flavoursome potato so it is best used for boiling or steaming and does not store as well as other varieties, but as one of the first to crop and easy to grow, it remains popular.

• Planting variety: first early
• Before planting: Be sure to chit your potatoes, leaving them in open air to allow sprouts to grow from the eyes, which are positioned on the blunter end of the potato. Stand the potatoes with the eyes facing up in natural light and plant out when chutes are 1.5-2.5cm in length.

• Plant out once the soil has started to warm up, from April onwards.
• Plant between 8-13cm (3-5in) deep in a trench with a sprinkling of compost or fertiliser in the base
• Space 30cm (12in) apart with 40-50cm (1ft 3in- 1ft 7in) between rows.
• Ensure that the potatoes are planted with the chutes pointing upwards.
• Full sun / Partial shade
• Avoid frost

• As shoots appear, cover them with a ridge of soil so that a mound of 20cm (8in) is present around each plant by the end of the season.
• Watering your plants well will help improve crop yield and discourage potato scab.
• First earlies are typically ready for harvesting around 10-11 weeks from planting- early to mid June
• Store in paper or hessian sacks