[kingers]

Hi Everyone
I'm lucky enough to have just taken over a well maintained plot in Cornwall and am keen to start growing my own fruit and veg.
Whilst chatting with experienced folk from the site I have been told that I will be able to  grow anything on the site but will struggle with potatoes. This is due to the blight problem that they suffer with every year. Apparently there's been sucess with earlies but not with main crop.
I've been told that most people don't even bother trying.
I've read about some blight resistant varieties and despite my inexperience, am keen to give it a go.
My favourite varieties are International Kidney/Jersey Royal and I also love King Edwards. Can anyone give me any advice or advise alternative/similar tasting blight resistant varieties.
Thanks for your help with this x

[davethespread]

apparently, caras have a good blight and scab resistance.

[M0rph3u5]

Cant vouch personally for these but reputedly have high disease resistance:

CARA LM
KESTREL SE
LADY CHRISTL FE
PENTLAND CROWN EM
PENTLAND JAVELIN FE
SWIFT FE
FE = First Early
EM = Early Maincrop
SE = Second Early
LM = Late Maincrop

Personally I use ROOSTER & ARRAN PILOT

Not that I am an expert on this area but if I had just taken over a new plot that has high yields I would definitely be trying to grow my favourite crop after ensuring the bed was well prepared to accept the new tates. Maybe they have given up and the problem has gone away. Plant some disease resistance tates alongside your favourite ones and see how they get on. Just my 2penneth.

[kingers]

Thanks for your post. I know it'll be trial and error but I'd love to learn from others' mistakes and get some tasty spuds on the family dinner table! x

[kingers]

Thanks. I'm here to get your 2penneth!

[DD.]

You won't get higher blight resistance than Sarpo Mira or Sarpo Saxona.

[Jodie A]

Blight hit us here again this year  but Sante maincrop had already done their stuff and the leaves had died back before then.........none of the spuds were affected.

Sante - already ordered for 2010 

[RichardA]

if you grow earlies then they will be out of the ground before blight arrives. Charlotte is my favourite and seem to resist blight to some extent. Personally I find Sarpo varieties a bit tasteless.
R

[DD.]

Lacking a bit of taste they may be. But mine are in bags in the shed, not the skip like a lot of my fellow plot holders.

They also have tough skins which slugs don't like.

A bit of creative cooking soon makes up the missing bit of taste.

[Iain@JBA]

You should try a variety called Setanta. Very blight resistant and has excellent cooking uses. Ambo is another good all round variety. If you want chips then you want to try Markies as they are blight resistant. Sante,Argos and Valor are also great spuds. Cara has been the mainstay of blight resistant maincrops for years but now there are many more to choose from.

[RichardA]

DD , odd how things vary around the UK, my sarpo took the brunt of the slug damage. I lost nothing to blight as thanks to this forum and advice from all the experienced members such as yourself I cut off all foliage immediately blight was confirmed in each row and then lifted the spuds a good few days later. Sarpo foliage certainly never showed any signs so it was last out the ground perhaps in so doing the slugs got a better chance at them.
R

[Salmo]

In Cornwall you will nearly always get blight early due to the mild climate. Your fellow plotholders are probably right.