Crop type: Potatoes
Solanum tuberosum ‘Nadine’
Common name: Potato ‘Nadine’
Crop slug: potatoes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Nadine’ is an AGM second-early potato producing a high yield of attractive, uniform tubers. They are short and oval, with smooth white skin and firm cream-coloured flesh. The flesh has a slightly sweet flavour and is particularly suitable for baking, while also performing well when boiled or chipped.
The RHS profile records resistance to some potato cyst nematodes, some resistance to scab and resistance to potato virus Y. These traits, combined with its even tuber shape and useful kitchen texture, make ‘Nadine’ a practical early-season crop.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Crop class
- second early
- Tuber form
- uniform short ovals with smooth white skin and firm cream flesh
Space seed potatoes about 30cm apart with 60cm between rows. The compact spread also suits large containers, allowing one seed potato for each 30cm of pot diameter.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained, or well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Use deep, fertile, moisture-retentive soil improved with well-rotted manure or garden compost. Good drainage remains essential. Water during dry periods so the high-yielding crop can develop evenly shaped tubers without interrupted growth.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full shade or partial shade as listed on the exact profile; the linked general potato guidance recommends an open, sunny site
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2
Give the crop good light in practice and protect tender emerging shoots from frost. Earth up new growth or cover it temporarily when freezing nights are forecast.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Bushy, clump-forming plants carry deciduous green potato foliage. At harvest, the crop is notably clean and uniform: smooth white skins surround firm cream flesh. The cultivar illustration should emphasise several evenly shaped short oval tubers rather than long fingerlings, round salad potatoes or red-skinned forms.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy, clump forming
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Solanum includes annuals, perennials, shrubs and climbers with simple or divided leaves, five-lobed flowers and fleshy fruits. Cultivated potatoes are grown for their underground stem tubers.
Safety
Only sound, non-green potato tubers are edible. Foliage, stems, flowers, berries, sprouts and green tuber tissue are harmful if eaten. Keep top growth and discarded green potatoes away from children and pets.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Chit certified seed potatoes rose-end uppermost in a cool, bright and frost-free place. For this second early, begin four to six weeks before planting in early to mid-April. Set tubers sprouts upwards in a trench about 15cm deep and cover with at least 2.5cm of soil.
When shoots reach about 23cm, draw soil up around the stems, leaving the uppermost 10cm visible. Repeat until the final ridge is 20–30cm high. This protects from frost, suppresses weeds and keeps developing tubers covered so they do not turn green. Maintain even moisture, especially in containers.
Check the crop from July. Lift when tubers are about hen's-egg size or leave a little longer for larger potatoes. Insert the fork at least 30cm from the stems and finish by hand to preserve the smooth skins. Second earlies are best used relatively soon after harvest.
Propagation
Propagate vegetatively from certified seed potatoes, chitted before planting for an earlier start.
Suggested locations
- Allotment or vegetable plot
- Cottage or informal garden
- Raised or no-dig bed
- Large patio container
- Potato grow bag
Pruning
No pruning is required. Remove seriously diseased growth promptly and dispose of blighted foliage appropriately.
Pests
Shows resistance to some potato cyst nematodes but may be susceptible to other cyst-nematode strains, cutworms, slugs, wireworms and leaf and bud eelworm. Use crop rotation despite its partial resistance.
Diseases
Shows some resistance to potato scab and resistance to potato virus Y. It may be susceptible to blight, tuber rot, blackleg, stem canker and, rarely, honey fungus. Certified stock, drainage and good hygiene remain important.