New Potatoes ???

[mc55]

I'm harvesting my early potatoes (Rocket), but some are as big as my hand ??? Is it all the rain we've been having- I'd expected lots of tasty, small sized potatoes - similar to what you find in the supermarket.  Instead I have monster sized ones (maybe 3-5 per plant) which don't seem to have much flavour ... and the slugs are having a great time having a nibble of every single one seemingly.

They were planted quite deep, with well rotted manure.

[mc55]

[Trevor_D]

My Lady Crystl were fine (dug the last a few days ago), but the Home Guard are just like yours. One was so large I cooked it as a jacket, we had half each and neither of us could get through it! Biggest Home Guard I've ever grown!

Most earlies bulk up quickly (which is why they're early) and are actually floury potatoes if left to get too big. (Duke of York is notorious for collapsing when you cook them.) And all this rain has made them outgrow their normal size.

[Chris Graham]

I'v finished harvesting all my Rocket potatos, never got any that size tho.

[Mrs Ava]

I have dug International Kidney that have been monsters!  I still have 2 rows to dig and in my current condition am relying on the old man.  With all this rain, I fear my little new pots will be monsters!

[RobinOfTheHood]

Tasteless giant slug-eaten Rocket for me too....Arran Pilots are a little better though.  :-\

[angle shades]

 :) monster very tasty Maris Bard for me, / shades x

[Taters]

I've had swift and BF14 from buckets so far...all very small...

Then came the stuff from the allotment...Royal Kidneys at the moment very tasty and all different sizes.

I think the important distinction to make is that we all know where our food comes from; the supermarkets would have us believe that everything in this world is of equal size, taste and texture. To me its the ultimate in the dumbing-down of our taste buds. Avoid like the plague, supermarkets rot your brain  ;D

[tim]

Agree - ours are  trying to be bakers!

[telboy]

Arran Pilot have (are being) excellent.
Can't understand why slugs are a problem. Earlies don't usually suffer as the sugar content deters them?

[Kepouros]

Another old wives` tale telboy.  Slugs will go for earlies just as much as any other spuds.  The reason why the earlies are not usually much affected is that they bulk up quickly and are dug before they attain any real size.  Leave earlies in the ground once they`ve become large and the slugs will make a meal of them.

[Brogusblue]

I have dug International Kidney that have been monsters!  I still have 2 rows to dig and in my current condition am relying on the old man.  With all this rain, I fear my little new pots will be monsters!

I have international kidney as well in containers i planted them at the end of april i am now tempted to have a look reading your are monsters couple of mine are flowering.

Cheers
Brogusblue

[Mrs Ava]

Mine aren't even flowering yet Borguesblue, and they went in late, probably during April as I was all behind and going nowhere!  Kestrel are the same, and I am digging pink fur apple volunteers and even they are decent sizes!

[Brogusblue]

Hello

Do i or don't i have a look i have 2 containers of international  kidney  ??? ???

Cheers
Brogusblue

[Mrs Ava]

Try delving your hand into one and see what you can find before tipping them out.  Just in case another week or 2 fills them out.  Would be a shame to upend the buckets to find only little taters.

[Mike J]

I think I've already lifted the same weight of first earlies (Home Guard) from three or four plants this year than the whole of one of my main crop rows last year - all that drought I guess. One or two slug damaged and one or two munched by woodlice (which I think moved on from the strawbs which they devoured with utmost gusto - seems to have been a plague of the blighters this year!).

[Brogusblue]

Hello

Well i done the dirty deed and emtpy one of my containers and i got a suprise lots of little new potato's  :D
:P :P :P :P Yummy out of 4 pot's i got just over 2 pounds of new pots well happy  ;D i will leave the other container for a few weeks to bulk up.  ::)





Thanks EJ-Emma Jane for the info well chuffed with pots what shall i have for dinner  ???

Cheers
Brogusblue

[Miss Fenella]

Our aran's and Pink Firs have been good.

Actually I have concluded something ( :o )

I will be recommending Pink Fir as a  container potato as they were very compact but with a heavy yield.  Anyone else find this?

[tim]

Interesting, because they are not usually lifted until October?

[sarah]

thats what i thought too, i have planted pfa thinking i will leave them in till end of the season.  when did you plant yours miss fenella?

[dandelion]

I dug up a PFA by accident :-[  (It was growing next to a first Early). It was nowhere near ready, so I stuck it back in the ground.
I've had lots of slug damage on my earlies. Also, about a third of the spuds are split. I suppose this was caused by the abundant rain after a dry April.