Lancaster’s ‘Potato Day’ again falls on the last Saturday in January (on 25 January 2025) at the Friends Meeting House – the building next to the train station.
From 10am – 3pm Potato Day’s doors will be open to all, with free entry and a range of activities to entice you to stay, including a potato-themed Cafe, a seed swap, a range of stalls, peaty activities for children, and a workshop by the Plot for allotment plot holders on growing all season round.
The day runs every year on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis and is currently coordinated by the Claver Hill community project. The aim of the event is simple: to bring people together and get more food grown and shared locally.
This year there will be over 25 different varieties of organic seed potatoes for sale. They will be sold loose so you could buy just a couple to plant in a bucket in your backyard, or else buy enough to grow an allotment full of potatoes. Once bought, the seed potatoes are usually taken home and laid out to ‘chit’ – they start to grow small shoots. They are ready to plant in the ground once the frosts are over.
Potatoes more or less grow themselves and digging them up is a joy in itself – smelling all earthy- and that’s before you even start to cook them. Spuds are also a great way to get kids into food growing – you can almost watch them as they grow.
In addition to the seed potatoes, there will be a range of stalls focused on local food, growing and environmental campaigns.
You don’t even need a garden to grow as there are community food growing projects such as Claver Hill where you can join with others and make new friends while growing great fresh veggies. So come along and find out more.
Lancaster Seed Library will be bringing a range of seeds to share and swap whilst also answering your seed-saving questions. So bring along questions, seeds you have saved or perhaps excess that you have bought, to donate and exchange.
There will also be people available who can give plenty of tips on how to get the best from your tatties or other veg. The Claver Hill and The Plot folk can give advice on no dig and organic growing for example.
Potato Day has become a Lancaster tradition that always attracts a great collection of people. Everyone is welcome, even those who don’t like potatoes! Visit the event here.
