Imagine enjoying a pot of your own fluffy new potatoes with dill and butter in early June, while the market is still selling imported ones at a premium. This isn’t a fantasy reserved for southern climates, but a achievable reality for gardeners in regions like Belarus, provided the preparation begins in March. The first secret lies in selecting the right genetics: ultra-early or early potato varieties with a short growing season of 45–65 days, such as the Belarusian ‘Uladar’, the resilient ‘Lileya’, or the dependable Dutch ‘Red Scarlet’. These varieties are bred to form tubers quickly, making them the only candidates for a June harvest.
However, the right variety is just the starting point. To outpace the calendar, gardeners must employ three key techniques. The first is chitting (pre-sprouting) the seed potatoes in a cool, bright place for 3-4 weeks before an April planting. This gives the tubers a crucial 10–14 day head start once they are in the ground. The second is planting them into slightly warmed soil (+6…+8°C) in raised beds to prevent rot. Finally, because late frosts are a threat, protecting the emerging shoots with agrofibre or film is essential. This covering not only safeguards the plants but also warms the soil, speeding up growth by another week. By following these steps, gardeners can start carefully harvesting those thin-skinned, delicious new potatoes just 40–50 days after the first shoots appear.
