Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: flitwickone on November 07, 2010, 09:51:13
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hi everyone it almost the end of my first year so thanks for all the help and tips
im having a whale of a time ;D
i have chosen these for next year
first earli =pentland javelin
second early =wilja
maincrop = rooster
i cant wait
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Well hopefully ones that wont get half wiped out in May by a late frost, and then just as they were recovering, totally wiped out with Early Leaf Blight.
Like last year. All 240 seeds.
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Well, I am determined not to order from catalogues - they are great if you want a hard to find variety, but last year found the ones I wanted in Homebase for about half the price - GRR!!
Will probably do:-
Rocket
Charlotte
Santé
Charlotte's are great, if they get a wiggle on, can be used earlier, and will keep in the ground too.
Did Pink Fir Apple a couple of years ago, taste was great, but they are so fiddly - if I see these reduced at a major outlet, I would be very tempted. shame my family eat with their eyes not with their taste buds ::)
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Well hopefully ones that wont get half wiped out in May by a late frost, and then just as they were recovering, totally wiped out with Early Leaf Blight.
Like last year. All 240 seeds.
wow that was ad luck i goit hit y that frost as well
it certainley took the wind out of the potatoe sails
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probably kestrel, Charlotte, Nicola and Nadine, and some Pink Fir Apple. I got them all from Wilkinsons and they did very well. The Roosters alas, tasted delicious, but were a bit of a fiddle to cut round the slug holes, so I might give them a miss!
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Vales Emerald, Charlotte, Kestrel and Desiree. :)
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We are going for:
blue danube 20 tubers
rooster 10 tubers
mayan gold 5 tubers
kestrel 20 tubers
anya 20 tubers
international kidney 20 tubers
british queen 20 tubers
;D ;D
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Pentland Javelin, Charlotte, Kestrel, Desiree
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Awful to hear that lincsyokel
I've ordered them from the catalogue via our allotment society and can't remember which ones ::)
Except pink fir apple. I love these and grow them every year.
This year, though most things did very badly, the pfa were the best crop yet! Very big tubers and still very tasty.
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I'll stick with Rockets for first earlies
The old faithfuls Kestrel are a must but I may go half's with one of the lottie holders and get Some Charlotte as well
Its Cara or Rooster for the mains but I am still undecided.
;D ;D ;D
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I'm being very boring and playing safe this year. (Probably a result of my disaster with frost this year!?!)
Early - Lady Chrystl
Salad - Charlotte
Main - Picasso & Desiree
(However, that does leave just a bit of space, so if I happen to be accosted in a garden centre by a potato that takes my fancy, I can still succumb to temptation without too much guilt....)
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I am a bit dull in this department I tend to go for the types that suit my ground and needs!
They are;
1st Early;
Rocket simply because it grows at rocket pace so the time from planting to eating is quite short!
2nd Early;
Kestrel because it is a good all rounder in the kitchen, gives a good yield and is unaffected by slugs & wireworms!
Plus if I were exhibiting I would be sure to find a few 'red' carders!
Maincrop;
Because I treat my 2nd earlies as a maincrop I only stick in a few Pink Fir Apple.
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First early=Epicure
Second early=charlotte
Main=Sarpo axona.Maris piper. Wilja for jackets ;D
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I keep looking at this sort of thing :P
http://www.potato-days.net/
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Well, I am determined not to order from catalogues - they are great if you want a hard to find variety, but last year found the ones I wanted in Homebase for about half the price - GRR!!
Will probably do:-
Rocket
Charlotte
Santé
Charlotte's are great, if they get a wiggle on, can be used earlier, and will keep in the ground too.
Did Pink Fir Apple a couple of years ago, taste was great, but they are so fiddly - if I see these reduced at a major outlet, I would be very tempted. shame my family eat with their eyes not with their taste buds ::)
Check you local Allotment Association shop. The ones i wanted were £39 in T&M and £12 at the A.A.
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Pentland Javelin and Charlotte.and will try the Kestrel as well .. not bothering with some i tried this year Shannon,Desiree and Maris piper as the wireworms and slugs have decimated them
still got about 4 rows of these to get up looks like a lot of burning to be done
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swift, charlotte, home guard, kestrel and desiree :)
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Thanks lincsyokel2, but I'm a back garden grower not a lottie.
Am tempted to give Wilja a whirl after all the comments above re baking spuds.
Seems everyone loves Charlotte though :)
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Not sureyet, will have a think/read over winter. I had some "nicola" lates this year that worked really well so probably give them ago :-)
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Now that I've got the second (half) plot I'm in a bit of a quandary... THe ground might well not have been well dug over by planting time (I know what I'm like at digging adn I know what else I have to do so I'm being realistic)... so I might well grow more potatoes than I orginally planned..
For definite:
Pink Fir Apple, Pentland Dell, Vitelotte, Congo (both from self-saved tubers from micro-tubers this year), Sarpo Axona, Anya, Setanta and Lady Chrystl.
Probables: Valor, Highland Burgundy, Rocket and Salad Blue.
Possibles... well I've got a potato day very local to me (like 300 yards from my door) so anything that takes my fancy but I'll be looking out for Purple Majesty, Kestrel, Charlotte and Mayan Gold, and anything that might turn out big bakers....
Things I won't bother with this year: Blue Danube, Sarpo Una, King Edwards, Mimi, Spirit, Smile, Swift.
chrisc
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When we started our veggie plot, OH assured me I should grow loads of spuds to break up the ground.
I quickly discovered that in fact I was the one who broke up the ground in order to plant them, earth them up and dig them up. Storing them proved to be a pain. We also eat very few spuds so I've only grown a few in old dustbins or stacked tyres since then.
This year the field behind me was spuds and they harvested the last of them in the dark which meant they missed three rows on a bend in the boundary. Two friends and I went out and dug up bucket loads the next day. I kept one lot and they took away two boot loads.
I can't see me bothering to grow spuds again.
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well I think I'm going to grow these, but am not 100% certain yet ...
Originally I grew spuds to help break new ground, now becasue we don't actually eat that many spuds I only tend to grow a few each of different varieties for fun, but have to say I can't resist the taste of home grown!
Will give Sharpes Express a go for an early (wasn't impressed by Lady Chrystal this year)
Then Red Duke of York, grew these this year and impressed
Mayan Gold or Trwighlight, grown for the 1st time this year and converted!
Thinking of trying Ratte instead of Anya
And maybe a few Desiree for roasties
Not sure if I will bother again with Blue Salad, will try 1 or 2 of these instead - Belle De Fontenany, Limzar Delikatese and Shetland Black, but not certain yet......
Oh and some Pink Fir Apples :)
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Thanks lincsyokel2, but I'm a back garden grower not a lottie.
Am tempted to give Wilja a whirl after all the comments above re baking spuds.
Seems everyone loves Charlotte though :)
Doesnt stop you joining the local Allotment Association and getting cheap stuff. And they are cheap, cos most of them buy at wholesale price and sell on at no profit.
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'Rocket' and 'Sharpes Express', don't bother with main crop 'cos we always get blight on out allotment site !! >:(
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Lady Christl, Cara and Desiree going in next year. Lady C's have always come up trumps, Cara did very well this year so giving them another go and if they perform well again I'll stick with them. Desiree will be a new one for me.
Ninny
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Rocket,Kestrel, Picasso and a I'll give them a go,this year it was Red Cara...they were rubbish the slugs loved them.
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Well definitely the regulars...
Epicure, Red Duke of York, Anya, Desiree, Picasso and KIng Edwards. Then it's a free for all. We were very impressed with Charlotte so will move them up to a 3Kg. We have some heritage ones like Aura which we save the tubers from. Then it's Potao Day time... ;D
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I haven't decided which ones to grow for next year but Cherie will definately be top of the list.
I don't think I will grow many Pink Fir Apples as they don't seem to store very well. Everytime I go to get some to eat, I have to throw half a dozen or so away as they have rotted. They were the last to be dug up so maybe they weren't dry enough. Does anyone else have problems storing PFA?
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I'm a bit tempted to indulge in this collection
http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/medwyn-williams-chelsea-collection/medwyns-winning-chelsea-collection-p338.html
from tattieman ;D
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i find PFA stores well, but i am also late digging them up this year so if they do not store you will have found the answer. I prefer Anya now as so much easier not as knobbly. Anne
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I'm a bit tempted to indulge in this collection
http://www.jbaseedpotatoes.co.uk/medwyn-williams-chelsea-collection/medwyns-winning-chelsea-collection-p338.html
from tattieman ;D
Looks like a great selection, but once you add postage it works out at just over 42p per seed potato which compared to TG's 45p per lb seems quite pricey!
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Aaron Pilot, Charlotte, Julliette, Ratte and Blue Danube are definites.
And then another look at what else is around.
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I haven't decided which ones to grow for next year but Cherie will definately be top of the list.
I don't think I will grow many Pink Fir Apples as they don't seem to store very well. Everytime I go to get some to eat, I have to throw half a dozen or so away as they have rotted. They were the last to be dug up so maybe they weren't dry enough. Does anyone else have problems storing PFA?
eh?.... they always store like stones for me.... the problem can be chitting the things in the spring....
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I agree Chris... even if one or two go off in the sack the tubers are very resistant to rot and it doesn't spread... :-\
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I wonder if I dug my PFA too early then.....every time I open the sack some more have gone yucky....every other variety has stored fine, I may not bother with them again, didn't taste as nice as I remember either. My best success this year were Charlotte, new for me, huge crop, tasted lovely and keeping too.
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Just using up the last of our charlotte now... they were excellent... :)
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I wonder if I dug my PFA too early then.....every time I open the sack some more have gone yucky....every other variety has stored fine, I may not bother with them again, didn't taste as nice as I remember either. My best success this year were Charlotte, new for me, huge crop, tasted lovely and keeping too.
It's possible... they are a late maincrop, frost generally gets the foliage before the plant dies off naturally (it will if we haven't had frost by the start of November though....Problem by then can be finding a dry (breezy is very good too) day to dig it on early in the morning and let them sit there till late afternoon to dry out a bit.... I ended up with mine on the kitchen floor laid out last thing at night, (I don't use the kitchen before I leave for work) then up again whne I got in from work so that I could have dinner etc, then back out again.....
chrisc
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I am also surprised about PFA. I missed quite a lot last year and was digging them up in the spring totally unharmed by all the snow and frost.
I am going for more Mayan gold - liked them sautéd. Grew Vitellotte some years ago and they got every disease going and a few extra. An going to try the Purple Majesty and the Highland red salad.
Linzer delikatesse is on my list again like the flavour and perhaps Ratte. Might try international kidney though have not got the seedweed to go with it. Might try some Blue Danube if not for the potatoes but loved the flowers.
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Well, I was quite pleased with the earlies I had this year that were Agata variety and they were excellent. SO I will do those again.
For seconds, won't bother with Rattes again, I will go back to Red potatoes so either Desiree or Roseval, they always did well for me.
For maincrop I am in two minds. This year I did a variety called Mona Lisa. Now they did well despite the drought, when there is rain they must be crackers, but I find them a bit floury and they weren't that big. They keep well however. So i am not sure as to whether I will keep them or not. I did have a good variety in the past called Caesar, but i bought them by mail order whic I found expensive and can't seem to find them in the shops. SO might have a little maincrop experiment next year :)