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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: telboy on February 19, 2006, 17:47:06

Title: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: telboy on February 19, 2006, 17:47:06
Just dibbing into my last bag of stored Sarpo.
I haven't been impressed with the variety so far except that the 'blight' was held at bay. The pots. I find now are quite 'rubbery'.
I don't think I'll try them again, for those who have, what are your comments?
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: moonbells on February 19, 2006, 17:54:03
I like them. We ate the last, enormous Mira for Valentine's day, roasted.  It did the two of us! I find they keep very well and are quite slug-resistant in my chalk-flint very free-draining soil. 

For most spuds I prefer waxy but these floury ones do roast exceptionally well. 

I think last year, however, was a very funny one for spuds, as it was so dry, even the waxy ones were falling in the pan.  Try again:  if we get a very blighty damp summer then you'll probably get totally different results.

moonbells (growing 12 of them this year, after last year's eight)
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: delboy on February 19, 2006, 18:38:13
Certainly no storage problems - had them in peat and still have a dozen or so left.

Am going for 15 each of mira and axona this year as the blight and slug resistance made all the others I planted look a waste of time and effort.

Clay subsoil here with about 9" of dirt on top. Well drained after a flooded winter.

Spuds always seem to be local conditions dependant.
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: real food on February 19, 2006, 19:09:25
:) I have my Axona potatoes stored in sacks in a cold outhouse and they are still in excellent condition. Best of all, they have still not started to sprout and therefore should store for a bit longer.  They have a long dormancy, which makes them very useful for storing. I have had to use up the other varieties that I had stored as they were sprouting.
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: djbrenton on February 20, 2006, 09:50:02
As an experiment I left one row of Mira in the ground and am harvesting them as I need them. They seem to have survived well but I won't grow them this year as I found them uninteresting to eat.
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: philcooper on February 27, 2006, 15:21:15
DJB,

From other comments I have seen, lifting and storing improves the flavour - Sarpo are not unusual in tis respect

Phil
Title: Re: Sarpo Mira/Axona comment.
Post by: redimp on February 27, 2006, 17:20:56
Slightly off topic but have to say I was stunned by the improvement in my King Eds after they had been stored for a while.  They were nice anyway but after about a month in the sack, the flavour was unbelieveable. This doesn't seem to happen to the commercial ones.