First early

A first early is a potato variety bred to grow quickly and crop early, giving you small, waxy "new potatoes" roughly 10 to 12 weeks after planting. They sit at the start of the potato year, ahead of second earlies and well ahead of slow, heavy-cropping maincrop types. Popular UK first earlies include 'Rocket', 'Swift', 'Pentland Javelin' and the much-loved 'International Kidney' (sold as Jersey Royals when grown there).

First earlies, second earlies and maincrop

Seed potatoes are sorted into groups by how long they take to mature, and the names simply tell you when to plant and when to harvest.

• First earlies — plant in March, harvest from late June. Quick, small, tender new potatoes for boiling and salads. They don't store; eat them fresh.
• Second earlies — plant in April, harvest July to August. A middle group, slightly larger, still best eaten fresh.
• Maincrop — plant in April, harvest from late August into autumn. Bigger tubers, heavier yields, and they store for months in a cool, dark place.

So "earlies" are about speed and freshness, while maincrop is about bulk and keeping. A small garden often does best with earlies, which clear the ground by midsummer and free up space for another crop.

Chitting and timing

Earlies respond well to chitting — standing the seed potatoes rose-end up in a cool, bright spot from late January so they grow short, sturdy shoots before planting. That head start can bring the harvest forward by a week or two, which matters most for earlies where the whole point is an early crop.

Plant first earlies once the worst frosts have passed, traditionally around late March in much of the UK. The emerging shoots are frost-tender, so keep some fleece or a cloche handy and earth up the soil over them if a cold night threatens. There's no rush to lift them: gently feel under the plants once the flowers open, and harvest as you need them.

Why earlies often dodge blight

Potato blight is the big late-season problem in UK gardens, and it usually arrives in warm, wet, muggy spells from July onwards. First earlies are typically lifted in June and early July, often before blight has a chance to take hold — so you harvest a clean crop and side-step the disease entirely. Maincrops, still in the ground through a damp August, are far more exposed and are the ones most likely to be hit.

This is the quiet advantage of earlies for beginners: they crop fast, taste wonderful straight from the soil, and dodge the worst of the season's troubles. If your plot has been blighted before, growing more earlies and fewer maincrops is one of the simplest ways to enjoy home-grown potatoes with less heartache.