potatoes

I buy most of my stuff off ebay, I find its not only cheaper, you tend to get more for your ££, I haven't put potatoes in yet, but I want to do it soon, can anyone tell me what I can get now (think they call it earlys?) say like 3 varietieswill do for the year? like a mid and a late, or duz it not work like that?

 

Sorry I didn't wait for advice!! anyway I think I worked it out, I got this lot

Potato 'Sarpo Mira' - Part of the Alan Titchmarsh Collection - 20 tubers
SAVE £2.50 Early Jan 2012 To Mid May 2012 * £5.49
£2.99
Remove £2.99
Potato 'Lady Christl' - 20 tubers
SAVE £8.97 Early Jan 2012 To Mid May 2012 * £11.96
£2.99
Remove £2.99
Potato 'Charlotte' - 20 tubers
SAVE £6.97 Early Jan 2012 To Mid May 2012 * £9.96
£2.99
Remove £2.99

 

I get my seed potatoes from JBA:
http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/buy-seed-potatoes/first-early-seed-potatoes

only checked one variety but that was £1.99 for 10, beyond that they sell by weight, so not sure how that compares, but it is not much different, and you should have a much larger varietiy to choose from.

If you don't know what varieties you prefer I suggest you buy a few each of several varieties, lose, from the local garden centre, label them carefully and try them this year, then next year you can shop around for whichever one(s) you liked the most.

Personal choice will depend on the flavour you like, of course, but also your soil etc. which will influence how they grow and how they taste.

 

I planted 4 different types last year, for eating over the Xmas period, but they all got blight, so I'm trying for blight resistance ones (mind you I think I did that with the last lot as well) I think what I have will do for a start, I will wait a few months and plant more, there's only 3 of us to feed, and I have a load of other veg I'm growing (from seed) so that should be just enough for us spud wise (I hope) its just a bit off putting, as I'm new to all this, and to grow 4 different variates and all die on me was off putting, that's why I'm not growing so many this time, with the post this lot came to almost £15, and my way of thinking is I would have got a whole lot of seed for that price

 

You may be better off with First Earlies only, they will most probably finish cropping before the Blight arrives. I'd skip the Maincrop if you had blight last year, and if you see any potato, left behind from last year, start sprouting then dig it up and dispose of it pronto (NOT on compost heap) ... spuds left in the ground can harbour Blight until the following year.

 

Yea I read that, I went up there today, and dug up what I could and put it in the barrel with my other rubbish to burn, I am going to plant the new spuds, in a different place, well away from where the others were anyway (just in case)

 

Good plan, get hold of some Bordeaux mixture before its withdrawn too.

 

forgive my ignorance but does that mean 1st and 2nd earlies are least likely to get blight....it's only my 2nd proper year of growing potatoes so still learning

 

i planted mine today(optamistic) had a few left over so i put those bottom of new compost heap covered with leaf mulch, any thoughts? :-)

 

I think the earlier you harvest the less chance you have of getting blight, they like the better weather and not the cold, ...... see I have been reading!!!

I think its ok to compost them, as long as they have not had any disease on them, or it will spread in the heap

 

Correct

There is "early blight" but its much less of a problem that the blight that comes later in the season. So an early harvest is likely to be done & dusted before Blight comes along, and Main Crop will be much more susceptible (as will a crop of spuds sown in August, for New Potatoes at Christmas)

 

Yeaas,

If you mean you put the spuds under the leaf mulch so they will be protected from the heat of composting then the spuds will reproduce themselves without top growth, just taking the nutrients from the soil. They'll be smaller than regularly grown ones mind.