Seed Potato Maris Peer

Maris Peer is a familiar and much-loved second early, originally bred for the canning trade and prized ever since for its reliable crops of neat, uniform potatoes. It produces good yields of smaller-than-average, oval tubers with light skins and firm, creamy flesh that doesn’t break up during cooking. With a subtle, delicious flavour and waxy texture, it’s ideal for boiling, steaming or roasting whole, and perfect for summer salads.

Maris Peer shows good resistance to common and powdery scab, skin spot, bruising and splitting, so it tends to produce clean, attractive tubers. It grows well in clay, loam or sandy soils, in full sun or partial shade, and its smaller tubers make it an excellent choice for containers and potato bags. Chit your seed potatoes in a cool, bright, frost-free spot for around six weeks, then plant out from early to mid-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. Keep well watered during dry spells and watch out for slugs. Your crop should be ready to lift from mid-July into August, around 13 to 14 weeks after planting. Maris Peer is also a popular choice for a late summer planting to produce fresh new potatoes for Christmas.

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