Which potatoes?

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to decide what potatoes to grow this year and just wondered what were peoples favourite ones?

Last year I grew: Charlotte (not impressed) Marfona good and Velour also good.

I am thinking of Vivaldi and pink fir apple as I want to try different ones:WINK1:

 

Its a huge matter of choice. Charlotte are loved by most people, for example.

My choices are:

First: Arran Pilot
Second: Charlotte
Salad: Pink Fir Apple
Main: King Edwards

Containers: A few Arran Pilot for extra-early, and the rest Charlotte. Xmas containers: Charlotte.

My advice would be to go to a Potato Open Day near you and buy just a couple of seed tubers of each variety you are thinking of - make sure they are carefully labelled, and kept segregated during chitting etc., and see what you think when you harvest them.

Not only is your personal taste important, but also the flavour will in part depend on your soil, and whether you plant them "in" manure, or not.

 

[size=large]Whatever variety is suitable to make "gnocchi" gets my vote...[/size]

 

I love potatoes, anyway them come .. jacket, mash, roast, Lyonnaise ... yum

Potatoes here are Portuguese, Spanish or French (seriously), red or white or small salad style. .. there are no 'names'. I prefer the Portuguese because they are always tasty and can be used for all purposes. The Spanish and French can be 'woody', something I abhore.

Sorry, Stingo, that's no help to your question ...

 

Due to lack of interest I only bother to grow Pink fir apples these days.

Its a distinctive variety that I like.

I also tried charlotte one year and couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

Just me I guess, but I'm quite happy with what I can buy over the counter most of the time, but PFAs are not commonly available.

 

Punk Fir Apples are my first chioce, not for peeling however:D

Best flavoured ones were an unknown variety that grew in the compost heap. Tasted like butter even without butter on them.

Now I hadn't tasted anything that good from what went into the compost heap so it must have been the fact they had grown in the compost.

Grow spuds in shite soil & you will get shite spuds.

 

Agree with that!

 

Rocket is the fastest maturing I think? (Or maybe that's Swift)

We start harvesting Arran Pilot after 8 weeks (yield small at that time, but we like "new potatoes")

But I think its a two-edged sword, trying to keep the frost off the darn things as they race for the sky!

I haven't started bags early before, going to start in February. Last year the bags I grew of Arran Pilot planted 17-March were harvested at 9 weeks. This year I reckon on 3 bag-plantings - 15-Feb, 01-Mar and 15-Mar. We don't eat a lot of potatoes, so a bag (3 - 4 plants) lasts us a week. So 6 bags in total will be enough.

 

I'll be attempting to chit and grow some left over spuds from a load we dug out of our friends "1 acre allotment" in North Wales last year (variety unknown but I suspect a very tasty Cara type).
In addition I may try Sante, a versatile maincrop with excellent disease and scab tolerance.

I did want to grow more but if we do manage to get our allotment site, it won't be ready for this years planting :(

 

Give em a spray with fungicide first Vince, lessen the chance of disease from non certified seed

You still got the chance of an allotment then ?[hr]


Don't agree with that!

Some years ago I bought a large load of FYM (paid for with a shift of overtime) got it dumped on where I had lifted the potato crop!

Anyway, did not get it all used, and next season two plants started growing through the manure.
I just left them to get on with it, and when the haulms started to die down I harvested them, I got almost two black industrial buckets full of marvellous large clean Romano potatoes!

When we came to eat them, they had a disgusting taste totally uneatable and just dumped the lot!

Some time later told an old plot holder about it, he said that had happened to him with the same result, he said he grew better, cleaner potatoes without manure as it attracted slugs, have to agree somewhat with him on that!


[/quote]

I'm suprised at that Makka,did you have any problems with the other crops you used the manure on ?

 

Well i have finally made my decision, was going to grow me tatties in the deck but was spoilt for choice so i'm going to be growing 7 different varieties in patio bags and this time i won't be impatient and i'll let go their full course so heres me list

Rocket (1st earlies)
International Kidney (1st earlies or salad not decided)
Charlotte (2nd earlies)
Blue Kestrel (2nd earlies)
Blue Belle (Main)
Maxine (Main)
King Edward (Main)

These will all be coming to my humble abode via JBA fantastic site.

 

I agree JBA is a good site, thanks for whoever suggested it, I will be ordering very soon with pink fir apple a definate choice, still debating on the other types!

 

Don't leave it long, they run out same as every one else!

They supply quite a lot of retailers, so you might find one locally - where you can buy loose, but the same JBA quality. I've been buying from JBA for a few years. In particular I like the fact that they don't ship when there is frost and packages might sit in freezing cold Courtiers' warehouses, or trucks, overnight. I doubt Seed companies have smart enough systems to not-ship orders that contain spuds in cold weather - garden centre chains too probably! although I expect you would see a sticky mess in the garden centre if their spuds had got frosted :thumb:
[hr]

Missed that earlier. Definitely going to call them that in future!

And lo and behold! whilst typing this my spuds arrived from JBA :thumb: