Specially selected tubers are put into temperature controlled storage and kept dormant until the middle of summer. This means that the first or ‘primary’ sprouts are still just emerging when you plant them in late July/August. Potato plants derived from these ‘primaries’ yield the earliest crops and by October you could be digging up your first tubers. With a dressing of potato fertiliser, you can even re-use the patch where you dug your spring-planted first earlies. Once ready, second croppers will keep best of all if left in the soil. Protect from severe weather with a straw mulch and lift when you want them.