Seed Potato Charlotte

Charlotte is the classic salad potato against which others are measured, and a favourite with chefs and home growers alike. Bred in France and introduced in 1981, it was the first firm-fleshed potato ever released on the French market and now holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It produces uniform, long-oval tubers with thin, smooth, pale skins, shallow eyes and creamy-yellow waxy flesh. Large for a salad variety, the potatoes hold their shape beautifully whether served warm or cold. Perfect boiled with butter and herbs or in summer salads, and also delicious roasted, sliced into gratins or even made into chips.

Charlotte is reliable and high-yielding, with good resistance to scab and blight, and grows well in the ground or in large containers and potato bags. Chit your seed potatoes in a cool, bright, frost-free spot for four to six weeks, then plant out from March to April, around 10cm deep and 30cm apart. Earth up as the shoots develop so the tubers stay covered, as potatoes exposed to light turn green and shouldn’t be eaten. Water well in dry spells, especially around flowering, and your crop should be ready to lift from early to mid-summer. Best enjoyed fresh, as salad potatoes don’t keep for long. Charlotte is also an excellent choice for a late summer planting to produce new potatoes for Christmas.

Each pack is checked before dispatch. Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.