Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: blackberryjam on March 02, 2013, 19:25
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Thinking of growing potatoes what potatoes do you recommend. :)
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I have bought some sarpo mira but after reading some of the comments about this maincrop. I'm not sure it will be worth planting them.
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It probably depends on what you like to eat.
I'm growing Lady Christl and Pentland Javelin for new potatoes, Charlotte for salad and Kestrel for everything else. I grew Lady Christl last year and they were the tastiest of all I grew and cropped better. Charlotte and Kestrel were firm favourites of many longstanding people on my allotment site and I've heard good things on here about PJ so thought I'd try them this year.
If you get chance to ask people on your site, you may get a good idea of which varieties grow well where you are. No one on my site recommended main crops, but I didn't know that when I bought some last year ::).
I think some of the comments about sarpo mira performance last year may be due to the extremely wet year we had - here's hoping this year is much better!
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Agree with Cake Lady, lady christal, Charlotte and kestrel are ones to look for IMO, international kidney (known as New Jersey Royals in the shops) are also very good and very expensive in the supermarket.
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You may find this thread interesting, especially the link to potato popularity polls.
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=100964.msg1123504#msg1123504
When you go to buy bear in mind that some of the more popular varieties may already be sold out ;)
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I really liked British Queen as a second early, beautiful flavour and was good roast, boiled, mashed and jacketed. It didn't do too bad in an awful year last year. Also liked Edgecote Purple, which was a lovely roast and baked spud but went to mush when boiled.
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I grew Charlotte last year and they were delicious.
This year I'll try Ratte and King Edward.
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Has I have never grown potatoes. Kestrel looks a good choice for beginners . I do like a tasty potatoe like jersey royals, and Cyprus. :nowink:
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I've bought Charlotte potatoes from the supermarket. I like the taste of them too. :) do they taste even better when you grow them yourself.
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I've bought Charlotte potatoes from the supermarket. I like the taste of them too. :) do they taste even better when you grow them yourself.
Everything tastes better when you grow it yourself ;)
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Yum can't wait :D
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I always grow vanessa a nice red first early,plus one other first early last year was ulster sceptre a very nice tatie but the slugs absolutely loved them as well so they are off this year.
Charlotte for 2nd early these seem very popular and rightly so.
I like nothing better than a new potato,except a fried new potato covered in mint sauce and i think anya is the best potato for this.
I always grow a few desiree as well i ate these as new potatoes last year as my charlottes did nothing and they were very nice.
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I have bought some sarpo mira but after reading some of the comments about this maincrop. I'm not sure it will be worth planting them.
I might be resonsible for that. I was referring to boiling them. They are very good roasted and chipped.
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I'm growing Lady Christl, Sharpes Express, International Kidney, Pink Fir Apple, King Edwards and Desiree
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Charlotte for me to a total must in our house and we grow them every year. Also chitting at the moment, Juilette, Sante, Valor, Merlin, Cara, Nicola, and highly recomended piccolo star.
Trial spuds for this year Casablanca, Accent, Belle de fontenay, Saxon ,Lady cristl, Estima,
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Started chitting the sarpo mira potatoes today, I'll try and pop into the garden center and buy some charlotte or kestrel potatoes this weekend while I'm in Essex. :)
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Hello all :)
been a while since i was last here,As i only grow spuds really :tongue2:
Cant believe its nearly time to start again.
This year i am growing foremost & lady christl for my 1st earlies
and carlingford & nicola for my second earlies
Never grown any of the above so cant wait to taste there flavours :tongue2:
nicola cost 1.60 for 1kg
and the other 3 all cost 2.95 for 2.5kg.
I got about 38 seeders out of a 2.5kg bag last year.
Good luck all and lets hope we have a better season than last year :D
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I highly recommend Witchill for flavour and yield (not that common to buy so save your own).
Go for something that tastes good or if you have the land....... taste, vigour and yield.
I say this as supermarkets sell many varieties of potatoes all year round more cheeply than you could produce yourself after spending out on certified tubers so go for something that is less common and tastes good and use the supermarket as a back up!
Best of luck with whatever spuds you choose, you cant beat digging up and eating your own grown spud! :D
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I'm growing:
Pentland Javelin 1st earlies
Duke of York Reds 1st earlies
Maris Peer 2nd earlies
Desiree maincrop
Having said that, it is my first season on an allotment, so things could well change next year!
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I grew Charlotte last year and they were delicious.
This year I'll try Ratte and King Edward.
I'm going to look for Ratte next year - I read they are delicious (Heligan Veg Bible ;) ).
Growing Belle de Fontaney, Pink Fir Apple and Vales Sovereign - all delicious ;)
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Blackberry, 'International Kidney' are the same sort of first early as 'Jersey Royals'. We saw some this week, but they may be selling out!
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Blackberry, 'International Kidney' are the same sort of first early as 'Jersey Royals'. We saw some this week, but they may be selling out!
Thanks for all the advice folks, international kidney I'm sure I saw them in the Chipperfield garden centre. :happy:
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golden wonder i always have this one, because of all the potatoes i have tried in the last 50 years this has the best flavour.
slightly more difficult to grow but worth it.
john currie
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Beware of International Kidney if you hope to get a Jersey Royal taste, unless you're growing them in Jersey soil. Even that Jersey taste has gone off over the years and quite a few on this forum have expressed that opinion.
Golden Wonder - they must have a good taste as my slugs went for them rather than the other spuds I grew that year! I'm sorry to say that they were a sacrificial crop.
For the above reasons I've grown both once only.
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I grew Charlotte last year and they were delicious.
This year I'll try Ratte and King Edward.
I'm going to look for Ratte next year - I read they are delicious (Heligan Veg Bible ;) ).
Growing Belle de Fontaney, Pink Fir Apple and Vales Sovereign - all delicious ;)
I gather Ratte are a bit like PFA, but less nobbly. I liked PFA a great deal when I grew some a few years back.
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Kestrel are my absolute favourite. Good all rounder and the slugs don't seem to like them. Also growing Desiree and King Ted's.
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Kestrel are a "must grow" for me as a second early. They store well also.
I'd highly recommend Ambo for an early maincrop.
The problem is that we're now late into the buying season and you might have to accept what's there.
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a fellow plotter put some rocket in yesterday gave me 6 spare that i put in 2 tubs, we have got estima, charlot, apache and valour chitting in the father inlaws spare bedroom :D
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Has anyone tried the old heritage variety Dr McIntosh? - I was told they have excellent flavour.
I've just looked them up and read (data base) that they have low resistance to bacterial and virus diseases but - I also found someone's allotment blog, which said:
"Dr Macintosh were really fluffy inside and not too waxy and had a really earthy taste, I don’t know why these are not a common potato? I would really recommend these to anyone who fancies growing something different"
Has anyone here tried them?
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nothing better than a jacket king edward.
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Beware of International Kidney if you hope to get a Jersey Royal taste, unless you're growing them in Jersey soil. Even that Jersey taste has gone off over the years and quite a few on this forum have expressed that opinion.
Golden Wonder - they must have a good taste as my slugs went for them rather than the other spuds I grew that year! I'm sorry to say that they were a sacrificial crop.
For the above reasons I've grown both once only.
My Golden Wonder were generally riddled with holes! Really wouldn't grow them again.
I grew International Kidney a couple of years ago - they tasted alright but nothing paticularly special.
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im growing kestrel again this year......they are lovely
new for me this year are Ratte, Kifli, and cara
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im growing kestrel again this year......they are lovely
I've bought some kestrel today and started chitting them along with the sarpo mira. :D