Author Topic: Homeguard Potatoes (Read 16570 times)

Julia · « **on:** June 27, 2011, 21:59:05 »

Hello I've not been on for a while, but have a question and thought you good people will probably have the answer.

I have four 'homeguard' seeded potatoes planted latter half of April. I've been banking them up. And watering from my waterbutt. The person who gave them to me has already harvested hers. She planted them about a week before me. Mine haven't flowered/hers have. My question is, does it matter whether they flower or not?

saddad · « **Reply #1 on:** June 27, 2011, 22:02:23 »

Some varieties don't "flower" at all... but Homeguard does... I'd wait personally... :-\

antipodes · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2011, 09:58:53 »

Yes, I would wait. I am eating my earlies but they were planted early March! So I would give it to mid-July at least.

Digeroo · « **Reply #3 on:** June 28, 2011, 10:25:24 »

Mine have not flowered. In fact the plants have started to look a bit sick But I have been digging them up and getting about 15 small spuds per plant so very pleased with them.

I lifted one and found the spuds were rather small so left them another week and now they have fattened nicely. I have lots more spuds on the way so it did not matter to me if they were rather small. But I planted mine the back end of March they were well up for the Easter Bank holiday.

I'd have a quick firtle and see what you can find.

Alimo · « **Reply #4 on:** June 29, 2011, 13:50:22 »

We don't wait for ours to flower - we've been harvesting ours for over a month now - but did plant early march.

Alison

raisedbedted · « **Reply #5 on:** June 30, 2011, 09:05:26 »

A few years ago I went to a Potato day in Hampshire and bought loads of old heritage varieties.

Proudly showing them to a nice old boy on our plot, expecting him to be all nostalgic about the good old varieties met with a shock.

'I havent seen those for years, my father used to grow them, they were absolute rubbish used to get blight at the drop of a hat, tasted rubbish, give me the modern stuff any day'.

Crushed I planted the spuds, and even more crushed when he proved to be correct.

Alimo · « **Reply #6 on:** June 30, 2011, 12:52:20 »

We love the flavour of homeguard.

Good job we're not all the same :)

Alison

raisedbedted · « **Reply #7 on:** June 30, 2011, 14:24:15 »

Quote from: Alimo on June 30, 2011, 12:52:20

Good job we're not all the same :)

Amen to that, if we were then Homeguard would still be popular :D

chriscross1966 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 03, 2011, 00:09:25 »

I quite enjoy growing Heritage varieties of varous things but frequently they only get one growing..... you will find old things that taste great and were dropped for reasons not to do with anything that we care about, equally sometimes they are pretty overwhelming.... Lumper was by all accounts a gorgeous tasting and massively productive potato.... but it was horribly sensitive to blight.... I'd love to grow it to compare with modern varieties though..... Also, a century ago there were six Fir Apple potatoes being listed in the seed catalogues.... but one of them described PFA as being "the best behaved and most regularly shaped Fir Apple".... if that spreading thug and hand-shaped knobbly tuber warrants that description what can the others have been like?..

This years heritage spuds are : Vitelotte, Negrsse, Forty-Fold, Yetholms Gypsy, Highland Burgundy Red, Salad Blue and I guess PFA counts....that said though, I'm not averse to new varieties either, Sarpo Mira, Sarpo Axona, Setanta and Mayan Gold are all in there, as are an as yet not commercially released cross between Mayan Gold and PFA, and a bunch of true potato seedlings (and therefore a dozen new varieties of their own rights), children of Ratte and Russian Blue.... I make a total of 21 varieties, most I've got of any one variety is the 20 Sarpo Mira, mostly it's 5 to 10, there's only one Vitelotte and 3 Negresse....

Digeroo · « **Reply #9 on:** July 03, 2011, 06:05:36 »

I suppose it also depends on the soil. I am enjoying Homeguard good flavour. Reasonably productive.

But I also have some heritage varities like Chris tend to go for 5. Yetholme Gipsy, Highland Burgandy Red, Shetland Black 10 becuase I like taste last year. Mayan Gold 20 could not get enough of them last year and Yukon Gold 5 and several others. Also got a mystery potato put 5 on the packet for paying but forgot to put the variety, it has rather attractive purple/blue spuds so it might be Edzell Blue.

I grew fell in love with taste of linzer delicattesse last year but that apparently gets some lurge and was not available anywhere I could find this year. Had a few volunteers and they certainly got something so a very small crop indeed. Doesn't seem to taste so good this year. Perhaps the weather also influences things. Still so very dry.

chriscross1966 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 04, 2011, 17:27:58 »

Quote from: Digeroo on July 03, 2011, 06:05:36

I suppose it also depends on the soil. I am enjoying Homeguard good flavour. Reasonably productive.

But I also have some heritage varities like Chris tend to go for 5. Yetholme Gipsy, Highland Burgandy Red, Shetland Black 10 becuase I like taste last year. Mayan Gold 20 could not get enough of them last year and Yukon Gold 5 and several others. Also got a mystery potato put 5 on the packet for paying but forgot to put the variety, it has rather attractive purple/blue spuds so it might be Edzell Blue.

I grew fell in love with taste of linzer delicattesse last year but that apparently gets some lurge and was not available anywhere I could find this year. Had a few volunteers and they certainly got something so a very small crop indeed. Doesn't seem to taste so good this year. Perhaps the weather also influences things. Still so very dry.

COuld the blue be an Edgecote Purple?.... don't remember there being any Edzell's at the potato day in Swindon.... Linzer D gets blight badly IIRC

Digeroo · « **Reply #11 on:** July 04, 2011, 17:50:29 »

Could be the Edgecote but that does not ring any bells, also got potatoes at Garden Organic.

Just finishing the last of my Home Guard which is a pity since I have been enjoying them.

busy_lizzie · « **Reply #12 on:** July 05, 2011, 00:57:35 »

I must say we found Homeguard to be a rather lackluste potato, but each to his own taste. Why not have a little expermental dig to see whether they are ready. We are digging up our Charlotte now and even a few Maris Piper though they could do with a little more time to get bigger. The Charlotte are lovely and haven't flowered at all. busy_lizzie

brown thumb · « **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2011, 09:40:22 »

as my pots didn't go in til 1st April i left til now to dig some so yesterday i had a quick fertile but they were the size of a small baking spud right disappointed as i was hoping for some small melt in your mouth size ones i knew i might mixed the variety's up so i dug in the next row brought both variety's home in one bag ended up cooking the two to gether one lot was still hard when the other was cooked and looked very watery even when not fully cooked so ended in the bin as they the hard ones did not taste very nice both lots were good sized spuds so :o :( what caused the wateryness and hardness

Digeroo · « **Reply #14 on:** July 05, 2011, 11:04:13 »

I think that the taste of a potato depends on the soil and the weather. I have just dug up some volunteer vanessa. Did not think much of them last year rather tasteless and watery. Just dug up some nice sized spuds and they were very nice. Soil the same but they had had some leaf mould and it has been very dry so not much chance of a watery potato so far this year.

brown thumb · « **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2011, 15:22:16 »

both lots were a good size but one lot was vile like i said hard and they looked if they got frosted but there was no frost down here since planting the others right next door( i did one row of7 sorts)was good but i mixed the variety's up bringing back home

chriscross1966 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2011, 16:34:17 »

Quote from: brown thumb on July 05, 2011, 09:40:22

as my pots didn't go in til 1st April i left til now to dig some so yesterday i had a quick fertile but they were the size of a small baking spud right disappointed as i was hoping for some small melt in your mouth size ones i knew i might mixed the variety's up so i dug in the next row brought both variety's home in one bag ended up cooking the two to gether one lot was still hard when the other was cooked and looked very watery even when not fully cooked so ended in the bin as they the hard ones did not taste very nice both lots were good sized spuds so :o :( what caused the wateryness and hardness

There's a commercial variety called Harmony that fits that descriptuion.... gives big even spuds that look really good but it's disgusting for all cooking methods IMHO, dreadful baked, boiled for mash or chipped adn given it's wierd watery flesh (which stays hard and watery) I can't see it roasting well either... IIRC there's another one equally foul called Saxon...

chrisc

manicscousers · « **Reply #17 on:** July 05, 2011, 17:02:26 »

Our homeguard on plot two are bakers/chippers, we took them from plot one as newies ;D

Ellen K · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2011, 17:24:57 »

Who knows? But when you try stuff you always need a back up. There is a lot to be said for Charlotte, well watered with a box of poundland growmore in each trench.

Edited to add: Sarpo Mira and the like are my villains: great yield of revolting spuds.

brown thumb · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2011, 21:13:14 »

thank goodness i only grew 8 plants of this one i was trying out variety's grew 7 diffrent ones trouble is i mixed the labels up when planting :'(but know these could have only come from the 2rows i dug yesterday

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Author Topic: Homeguard Potatoes (Read 16570 times)