Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Redgoat on March 15, 2016, 13:55
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Just been touring the garden centre's and have decided this year to try some different potato varieties,
I grow one early and one maincrop.
Last year I went for Accent and Maris Piper.
Earlies were fine but the Maris P yields were poor and the crop disssolved to water when boiled. Very dissapointing.
Rather than switch back to Desiree or King Edward I have gone for a new variety this time, Manitou.
For earlies I have gone for Home Guard and Sharpe's Express.
Anyone have any thoughts on these varieties?
My soil is quite loamy with a relatively high PH.
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im trying home gaurd this year
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Have just gurgled 'potato varieties' and went on a potato varieties database.
For Home Guard it says,
Short oval tubers with white to cream flesh. Short dormancy. Susceptible to drought. Moderate to low yields. Susceptible to tuber blight and late blight on foliage, potato cyst nematode GLobodera rostochiensis Globodera pallida Pa2/3,1. Good resistance to Bruising, Splitting, skin spor, Dry rot Fusarium coeruleum powdery scab and spraing (TRV). Medium to high dry matter. Tendency to discolour after cooking
And for Sharpe's Express , the following
This variety has low resistance to dry rot, late blight on foliage and late blight on tubers. Susceptible to dry rot Fusarium coeruleum , late blight on foliage and tubers, skin spot, potato leafroll virus and potato virus Yo.
There is also further information on yields and disease resistance that may be of interest. Haven't looked further but there may be other similar sites , as well as the information on these pages. I'm sure somebody will be along with some words of wisdom.
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I grew Sharpe's Express for the first time last year. I found that they were not great when boiled as they quickly fell apart - steaming was better. However the whole family absolutely loved them roasted (I just cut them lengthways and tossed them in oil and herbs). They were perfect - fluffy in the middle and crispy on the outside :D. We are definitely growing them again this year.
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I haven't tried Sharpe's Express but I did plant Homeguard last year. They were an OK spud with fairly good yields but the flavour was nothing special so I won't bother again. On your soil, they might taste better though.
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Amazing the contradictory information out there, I've read that Sharpes Express are bland and not very good but have also read that they taste good!!!!
I'm growing a few to make my own mind up, Red Duke of York are my main earlies this year, I'd never heard of them before I saw them in Wilkos.
My bad experience was with Sarpo Mira last year, blight proof but bland and far too dry.
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Amazing the contradictory information out there, I've read that Sharpes Express are bland and not very good but have also read that they taste good!!!!
This variety in reports is to be expected. Flavour will depend not only on variety but also on growing conditions, soil, etc.
For example, Jersey Royals can only be grown in Jersey, on the particular slopes with the particular fertilisers etc etc. The taste in the supermarkets is said to be good.
The same variety is called International Kidney outside Jersey, and its growers on here have generally been very disappointed.
That's why it's important to see what works for you :)