If you've ever tasted a potato that's been cooked just minutes after being dug up from the ground, you'll know how different the flavour is from any supermarket variety. So now's the time to grow your own.

Seed potatoes can now be bought in large bags, but if you have limited space or just want to try out a few, some outlets sell loose tubers by weight.

Extra early varieties of seed potatoes, available from garden centres, should be chitted before planting out.

This is done by laying the potatoes rose end (where most of the tiny sprouts are) on newspaper in clean seed trays on a windowsill or in a frost-free greenhouse, in a light position but not in direct sunlight.

In a few weeks the shoots will grow, gaining strength while the soil is still too cold for them to be planted outside.

Rub off all but the four strongest sprouts and when they have grown to around an inch, chitting is completed.

You shouldn't plant them out until next month, though, as the shoots will take time to develop.

Good extra early varieties, which should crop quickly and produce less top growth include Swift, Rocket and Accent.