I'm doing a bit on local radio (Solent) at the weekend on potatoes and invariably there will be questions on "what's the best potato"
What do you think - there's been quite a bit on yields and slug damage on the board but not much on flavour. What would you recommend and can you say what your soil is like as this (IMO) has quite an effect?
For starters my own, grown on thin soil on chalk with flint:
1st Early:
Home Guard (but low yield)
Roseval
Princess
2nd Early:
Kestrel
Catriona
Maincrop - I prefer the fluffy mashy ones that also taste good baked and roast:
Arran Victory
Spey
Salad:
Anya
Good all rounders:
Accent - can be lifted as first early or left to maincrop
Spey - tastes good whcihever way it's cooked and yields very well
Phil
Phil,
You have a couple on your list that I like, Home Guard and Arran Victory. Yield is not too bad for Home Guard on my heavy clay soil. Very good for Victory.
To add to your list I would include Mimi for a very early first early, small tuber but loads of them and great flavour. Very well suited to growing in containers too if short of space.
All those three I am growing this year again.
I like the taste of British Queen too, mash and roast beautifully but not a huge yield.
I am also going back to a variety I have not grown for a while, Romano. This did very well 2 years ago, nice large bakers that did indeed back very well with crisp skins.
Finally I am trying Picasso after seeing Tim's results and comments.
Jerry
(What time are you on and is it on Southern Counties as well as Solent?)
Next to my own garden, I have a plot in Noordwijk in the Netherlands, against the dunes. Soil is 10% sand. For me, I like waxy potatoes.
I start with Eerselingen, a firm potato, white, yellow. Very tasty, high yield
Than, Berber, yellow one, good taste, does not loose colour after cooking.
Wilja, good taste, high yield,
Symfonia, from origine Dutch, licensed in Canada in 1997, red outside and yellow inside, like Desiree, taste the same . Need a lot of water, is resistance to deseases, need kali.
Maris Peer: nice waxy. Need water . Very nice taste.
Mincrop: Mona Lisa, gives good crop of potatoes from June till august, yellow, firm, taus firm after cooking. Keeps nice colour.
Pentland Squire, my favorite. Is waxy and firm. Very, very high yield.
And of course at least one row of black Vitelotte. Looks very nice in salads, tast chewy. Very nice.
Because my soil is sooo sandy I have to water my potatoes as soon as leaves appear.
We are surrounded by bulbfiels, so for years we were not allowed to grow potatoes, but with a good rotation scheme, some have 6 years) we have never had blight and always a high yield.
I have no problems with slugs, put see shells around the crops.
Sorry, mistake, soil is 100% sand. of course.
a man next to me at the plot swears by a potato called majestic, he has great yeilds and he sayd the flavous is a real potao flavour!?
Jemma
I grew Pink Fir Apple last year. May be a bit poncy, but they have a fabulous flavour and seem to be keeping well. Obviously best boiled and in salads, can't chip or mash them!
Mush better than my King Eds. They just fell apart on contact with hot water, it seemed.
I've grown Red Duke of York and Charlotte for the last two years and am going for the hat trick this year as they do well on my soil near the coast. Grew Pink Fir Apple one year; lovely taste and texture especially when cold but the top growth was enormous and I don't recommend for a small plot.
Good luck
Phil, we like,
Lady Christl (good yield and flavour),
Kestrel (good resistance to slugs and good flavour)
and our favorite has to be the Anyas! (less foliage, and easier to prepare than Pink Fir, fantastic flavour!) DP
well after much consideration and advice taken from others here I decided on Red Duke of york (First Early) Marfona (Second Early) and Pink fir Apple and Cara (Main) This will be my first year growing spuds so chose recommended varieties and ones that sounded good in the catalogue!!
Plottie
I must be the odd one out here. Apart from recognising the different qualities of salad & other potatoes, I find that I have enjoyed every potato that I have grown, & I doubt that I could differentiate in a blind tasting.
Furthermore, I cannot remember ever thinking 'this potato doesn't mash'. Yes, I've had the odd one break up in boiling, but I've put that down more to conditions than variety.
As for sticking to old favourites, I'm going all new again this year - Colleen, Charlotte & Lady Balfour. = Tim
I used to like Pentland javlin but scab was a problem.
now i do Charlotte and Cara and i try one other new one each year as i like to give them a go, you never know you might find 'the one' ;D
Phew Tim, I was begining to think I lacked certain taste buds as I have to be honest and say I have trouble telling varieties apart. They may behave differently, waxy, floury, red or white, but as for taste, well in mash, by the time you have added a good wodge of butter and a slosh of milk (or cream :P) who knows or cares what the spud was that made it!
My favourites in the kitchen from my deep fertile  loam in Yorkshire (old plot!)
- Early - Red Duke of York (stores well if left a bit longer as a second early)
- Second Earlies - Kestrel, Yukon Gold
- Main - Kerr's Pink (needs a long season to fill out well)
- Salad - Pink Fir Apple (Late Main), Charlotte (2nd E)
All best - Gavin
Going back to Jerry's earlier post, Radio Solent is online so you can listen to the broadcast from Ten to One. I listen at work. Am guessing that Phil is in Winchester when he mention's chalk!
In Eastleigh we are still fighting our local council to stop them building houses on our allotments and have a public enquiry which starts in April.
Sorry to hi-jack thread,,, will be visiting the Potato weekend at Whitchurch at the end of January for our seed potato's and onion set's. Going for Maris piper and Charlotte. Only second Year on site and have not tried spud's yet.!
Terry
Epicure
Red Duke of York
Yukon Gold
All taste great on my clay, don't grow maincrops as the slugs get more of them than me
Tatties are my favourite (tatties, eggs, cheese and I could live fine) and as already said when it comes to mash almost any variety will do me - except Nadine which I have bought when ours have run out and found to be horribly wet - but the shops are always full of it later in the year so someone must like it - probably the growers for big crops(?) so its my most unfavourite!
This year we are growing 1st Earlies Charlotte and Concorde, 2nd Earlies Marfona and Maris Peer and Maincrop Pentland Crown and Sante.
Many, many thanks for all the input, I hope it's been of use to others
I could now appear to know a little about the subject if asked :D
Terry, I'm 12 miles north of Winchester in Whitchurch and look forward to seeing you on 29th or 30th
Hello everyone,
             last year was my first "proper" year on my allotment.I grew lots of spuds.
 Rocket-6/10-decent crop,but quite bad slug damage.
 Sharpe's Express-8/10-not mad on flavour,but no slugs.
 Winston-3/10-very 'watery',severe slug damage.
 Concorde-9/10-loved the flavour,only slight slug damage.
 Kestrel-7/10-prob left in too long,big crop,some slug holes.
 Picasso-5/10-only grew a few,nice spuds,some slug holes.
 King Edward-7/10-lost a lot to the slugs,survivors v nice.
 Belle De fontenay-2/10-most were just mush,blight?
 Kerr's Pink-4/10-only grew a few,nice and big,slugs 8 most.
 Pink Fir Apple-0/10-planted V.late.comp disappeared?
  Like Merry Tiller,my spuds seemed to get clobbered by the slugs,the longer they were in the soil.On the positive side,the main patch where I grew the spuds is the best soil on my allotment.
 Just thought I'd add my two penneth.
   All THe Best-Marky.
I love to grow potatoes, it's like digging for buried treasure once they are ready ;D
A north-east progamme called 'Kitchen Gardener' recommended a
growing method of No Dig potatoes which I intend trying this year.
Prepare the ground (no digging just rake flattish)
Scoop out a little soil where tuber is to grow
Put small amount of compost in scooped hole
Place tuber in hole
Cover with handful of seaweed and on top a good handful of grass clippings
As foliage emerges add more grass to prevent exposure of tubers to light.
Apparently, the goodness and especially the salt content of the
seaweed deters slugs who loathe salt ;).
Debs :)
Hi E J - "by the time you have added a good wodge of butter and a slosh of milk (or cream  ) who knows or cares what the spud was that made it!"
I do if there are still some hard bits that haven't cooked......... ??? ;D
aaahhhh clod hopper, I whip mine up with my hand blender whippy things, smooth creamy lush mash! ;D
Many thanks to all for your input - I survived the radio experience!
Given the interest, should there be a potato board - Spuds 4 All? ;)
Phil