Seed Potato 'Desiree'

• Start with a little compost in the base of your container, about 15-17cm. Place the tubers onto the compost and half fill the pot. Keep some horticultural fleece handy, should cold nights threaten.
• Green shoots will eventually poke up through the compost, and when they do, cover them with another layer of compost, water and feed. Keep on adding as the plants grow until you reach the top of the pot or bag.
• First and second earlies will grow quicker than maincrop potatoes which are in the pots for longer, so require more regular watering.
• In the ground, first earlies will take around 14 weeks to mature, second earlies around 16 weeks, but in warm containers you can knock a couple of weeks off that, particularly if you like to eat them small and tender.
• New potatoes are at their best eaten immediately, so pull out only what you want for one meal, leaving the rest to grow on.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. Pre-ordered items will be sent as soon as possible after the date quoted and we'll generally ship your entire order with your pre-ordered items. When your order is dispatched, we'll send you another email with details of how to track it.

Most orders are sent on a fully-tracked courier service with Yodel. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, no signature is required, and our courier is asked to leave your order in a safe place on your property.

We'll send a tracking link when we dispatch your order, so you know when it's due to arrive. Please note, once delivered we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your property. If you have any specific delivery instructions, please let us know - there's an option to enter a short message for the courier at the checkout.

Smaller, lighter, single-item orders may be sent through the post with Royal Mail - in which case no tracking is available.

Our experienced nursery team will always send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive when you plant them, so although most plants are very tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme frosts or heatwaves, we avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme weather is forecast, or over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.