I would like to grow the perfect spud :)

Your very welcome John, it seemed easier to write down what I do rather than give "spotty" advice. When I googled how to grow potatoes in Italy, I found a few references to gardeners planting in February, to advance the growing season and avoid the very hot summers.

This early planting could also account for why you could also only find King eddies, maybe everywhere is selling seed in Jan/Feb?

Steve...

 

Confessions of a 'too smart for his own good' gardener.

In 2013 I bought a big bag of locally grown King Eds in our local Tesco and used them as seed and had a super crop from them. This year I did the same money saving thing. BUT these seeds HAD been treated against sprouting and half the crop never appeared. I really ought to have cottoned on at the chitting stage as half of the seeds showed next to no shoots.

Up here at 56 degrees north we can get frosts into mid May so I sow under black polythene and this helps warm the soil, prevents early frost damage and also helps bring up an early first flush of any weeds which are easily killed during earthing up. I usually put down the polythene a few weeks before sowing just to start the soil warming.
When the first shoots emerge as can be seen by bumps in the polythene I remove the covering and replace it with fleece which allows photosynthesis but still affords some frost protection.
Once upon a time I started earthing up quite early, but the past couple of years I've left it until the shoots are four or five inches as according to my theory covering the leaves too soon reduces photosynthesis and tuber growth potential though I can't provide any evidence for this.
Best crop always comes from the six seeds I sow in the second year compost heap!

 

A good general purpose spud, including for roasties if you're prepared to deviate from the British Standard idea of a roasty. Diced small, doused in a blend of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, finely chopped rosemary and an unhealthy measure of salt, you get delicious roasties, but they are more suited to mediterranean dishes than the standard sunday dinner.

 

That's how my wife cooks potatoes, part reason because she's Italian and the other reason is that the potatoes here hold so much water and it's difficult to cook large size potatoes.

 

If you boil such spuds for about 10 minutes, then drain them off and freeze them, they end up with loads of little cracks in them so that when you then roast them, much more moisture can escape, and the fat (whichever fat you choose to brown them off) gets in to more places making them more crunchy and full of flavour.

 

That's interesting to know, i will try that. Thanks Clueless