Topic: scabby spuds

[ACE]

The potatoes I dug last week were really scabby, they peel alright but have a red tinge running through them. They were supposed to be apache, I have my doubts. Yellow flesh but like I say, a red sort of vein runs through them. We just boiled some and they turned to mush on the outside with the middle staying firm. Put them through the ricer, but we are not sure. Do you think they are safe to eat as they have now turned orange. They also had a very thick skin and are as hard as rocks when raw.

I have just tried some in the air fryer and they are really crispy with loads of potato crumbs and bright yellow.

Have only used supermarket spuds for quite a few years now, not used to these home grown dirty, lumpy, scabby spuds.

[squeezyjohn]

For the past few years I have planted my main crop potatoes out as early as possible and harvested them around the beginning of August rather than leaving them in until September like most advice tells you to.  The yield of the crop has not been affected at all - and I had some absolute whoppers from my Desirée this year ... I started doing this because of fear of late blight ... but this method has had the added bonus of clean scab and slug-damage free spuds that are harvested much more easily in dry conditions.  The spuds stored well in to the spring for eating.

I would certainly recommend it to anyone with slug/scab trouble.

[ACE]

These went in earlyish, but it really was a rough bit of ground, wet heavy clay. I really  used the spot up with spuds just because of the old adage, 'potatoes clean the ground'. Well we all know that is not exactly true as it is us that clean the ground with planting, earthing up maintenance and a good digging when you lift the crop. The tops had started to die down, but I was worried that with all the blight on our site this year, the crop might be affected. I cut all the tops off, then decided I might as well lift them. Loads of tiddlers, but still a fair crop. The plotholder next door also had a scabby crop, but the potatoes I had planted in the dryer top half of the plot were lovely clean spuds even the few apache that I used to make up a row.


Well I ate some, really really starchy, if I water them down a bit and I will have some wallpaper paste.

[johhnyco15]

scab sometimes comes with the ground being too alkali potatoes like it a bit on the acid side some varieties are more suseptible to scab than others hope this helps

[Digeroo]

It can help to wrap your potatoes in comfrey leaves when you sow them.  Eaten a lot of scabby potatoes they are the norm here.  You can also grow potatoes in plastic bags with holes in filled with potting compost.  The roots grow out through the holes, but most of the potatoes remain in the bags. 

Some varieties are more susceptible than other.  I find Real Desiree are good.  You would need to plant really oval smooth ones from the supermarket.  They are dark red and taste great,  microwave well.   Most boughten seed potatoes are not right. 

I find Annabelle are good too, but difficult to get the seed potatoes.

I have also had some success growing into manure.