[Ivor Backache]

Last year I had an excellent crop of potatoes. Because of that i have re-ordered the same potatoes and they are currently chitting. However....
All the main crop are boiling to mush.
Sarpo Mira: good crop no slug damage
Sarpo Axona: Excellent crop no slug damage
Blue Danube. Poor crop no slug damage (to be fair I grew 1 row for chips)
Desiree: Excellent crop no slug damage. (Previous years have not gone to mush)
My main crop seed this year will be Sarpo Mira and Desiree. I am relunctant to plant them.
I am surprised with the Desiree. They are a dependable potato and I have always grown them.
I also grew some Cara, had an excellent crop but 30% slug damage..they boiled OK.
I am aware they are all floury potatoes, but it seems that growing a potato that is blight and slug resistant is not always the best in the kitchen.  I am just wondering if anyone else has noticed a change bearing in mind the very wet season we all had.

[Sparkyrog]

I suspect your problem is down to the high moisture content of the crop at harvest ! Try steaming them its worked for me 

[Aunt Sally]

Try steaming them its worked for me 

That's what  I do.

Just a sprinkle of salt on them in the steamer.  Lovely

[Ivor Backache]

Thank you for your replies, but it wasn't really a question of cooking. I have grown 5 different varieties of main crop and haven't managed to boil any of them. That has never happened before even with Desiree which  I regard as a 'supermarket' potato. Great things have been said about the Sarpo range regarding blight, but to me they have to seen as a failure.
 

[al78]

Eat them mashed instead of boiled, problem solved 

[Sparkyrog]

My answer stands for all varieties of spud !

[Sparkyrog]

Last year was exceptional for potatoes ! I personaly know a farmer who had to replant a 40 acre field due to floods washing the first lot of seed out ,then when it came to harvest time they rotted in the ground as it was to wet to get them out .

[BabbyAnn]

In 2011 I grew Blue Danube, Sarpo Mira and Sarpo Axona - excellent harvest, bigger spuds than expected considering the drought, no slug damage.  I was pleased as punch until I started to cook them - all 3 varieties turned to mush when boiled.  It's not a question of wanting boiled potatoes but wanting to add them to stews and hash but all 3 just liquified.

When I brought this up with the supplier that had classed them as a general purpose potato, I was told that during the "critical" period in tuber development, the plants did not get enough water - 2011 was very dry so I accepted that explanation.  I would have considered last year a bit on the wet side, so maybe too much water at the critical stage has the same result, OR, they are just rubbish for boiling.  As it happens, I thought all 3 potatoes were so tasteless that they were not worth growing again despite the blight resistance claim.

[JayG]

I have found that both Charlotte and Pentland Javelin tend to break up on boiling once they get much beyond salad potato size, but they are such highly regarded varieties I'm inclined to suspect that my growing conditions weren't ideal - much as some of you are probably sick and tired of hearing about the virtues of Lady Christl  it's never happened with them. 

[Ivor Backache]

As it happens, I thought all 3 potatoes were so tasteless that they were not worth growing again despite the blight resistance claim.

That's exactly the situation we are in. I still have two sacks of these potatoes and will now have to buy for boiling. I will try the Desiree again but bin the Sarpo. It's a shame really when producers develop a blight/slug resistant potato which is useless when boiled.

[DD.]

It's very easy to blame a particular variety, rather than the growing conditions.

See my comment on Sarpo Mira from over 6 years ago!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=1478.msg12683#msg12683

I don't have a problem with them.

[BabbyAnn]

It's very easy to blame a particular variety, rather than the growing conditions.

Oh you are absolutely right - I've had a variety that in the past has been a firm favourite and then one year out of the blue, they didn't taste right, almost bitter.  I'm not sure why as I hadn't done anything different and the weather was er ... British, but nothing extreme.  It put me off getting them again until last year when I decided to give them one more try, and they were fine.

However, a new variety that doesn't measure up in my estimation the first time is not likely to be on my list the next time.

[Ivor Backache]

It's very easy to blame a particular variety, rather than the growing conditions.

I also agree, but what I am to do with 3 rows of seed potato that may let me down again? You also mention 'growing condition' and maybe Lincs does have better conditions than N. Wales.
Some parts of the country are noted for potato growing eg Cheshire. I went looking for seed potato and in a cheapy shop they had a bag of 10 reduced to a £1-they reminded me of marbles!!
Had thought of planting the main crop later, leaving the trenches open for any slugs to be eaten, but I expect the chitting process will control that.
Thank you for reposting the link. It did make me smile. Everybody that answered had a different recommendation. I often wonder why we have so many different potatoes, unlike other vegetables except perhaps tomato. Now there's another dilemma waiting around the corner. Cannot be any worse than last year-can it?

[devonbarmygardener]

Eat them mashed instead of boiled, problem solved 

If Ivor's spuds were anything like mine a couple of years ago (Golden Wonder - never again) there was nothing to mash - it was just a starchy gross soupy mess - within minutes of boiling them!

[shokkyy]

I grew Sarpo Axona the year before last and hated them. They didn't boil well and the skin was horrible, kind of scaley.