Allotments 4 All

Have just found time to harvest my spuds - 2nd earlies, this afternoon, main crop next week, I know it's late but that's life.

My question is, the Nadine and Charlotte's were perfect, good size, and pretty much unblemished (was worried about blight, but it looks as though the haulms were just dying off), but the Marfona row between these two were all riddled with some kind of burrowing creature, and inside looked too much trouble to rescue. They then accompanied me to the local tip!

Any thoughts on why these were singled out for lunch by the 'bug'.

By the way, also did a bonfire today, and baked a potato - wish I had brought butter with me, though it was delicious anyway (though I was starving!)

Quote from: Mike J on September 23, 2007, 19:20:28

Any thoughts on why these were singled out for lunch by the 'bug'.

All I can say is that you have some discerning bugs.  Marfona is my absolute favourite variety!!

valmarg

It happens. The one year I tried red Duke of York, they were riddled with wireworm, while the rest weren't so bad.

There was an old Gardeners World on the other day and Pippa Greenwood was doing a feature on different potato varieties and their resistance to attack.

the level of slug damage to each ranged from a whopping 49% down to 0% but (unhelpfully) I don't recall which variety it was!

Good old Cara had something like 20% of the crop damaged by slugs.

Oh, the point is that i think it may be slugs!  Check out this link on the RHS pages: http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0902/potato_holes.asp

Thanks everyone, although there was not the extensive surface damage like in the RHS link, the holes were round and inside there were cavities and tunnels.

I never got a chance to taste them, so will have to rely on Valmarg's comment about them being excellent (though I must have selected them from the store for a reason) - anyway, these pesky slugs agreed! 

I agree with Valmarg,  Marfona are the best.   My 2 rows got completely mullered by the slugs and ringworms.  I still persevere and cut off the ends etc.   Just takes more work at the peeling stage, not to mention the disappointment.  Still the mash and roasting makes up for it !!!

The PFAs were not touched !!! - they're great as well !, but of course different.

Regards   Riffster

I have to agree that Marfona are my favourites too.  M&S sell them as their baking potatoes if you want to try them, which is how I found out about them.
I made some potato wedges out of them for a BBQ last year, just using olive oil and sea salt, and all my friends were asking how I'd made them thinking there must have been some kind of special recipe since they tasted so good.  I just told them that it was all in the variety  :)
I've had a fair bit of damage to my crop too this year, a mixture of slug and something else I think, but not bad enough to put me off cutting out the bad bits!

SP x

Based on an old Robert Carrier recipe for roast loin of pork boulangere, I have adapted the following way of cooking them.

Peel and thickly slice potatoes, and parboil in milk and water.  In a small dish put a chopped shallot and some chopped parsley.  Put the potatoes in the dish at an angle of about 45degrees.  Add chicken stock to halfway up the dish/potatoes.  Brush the tops of the potatoes with butter.  Bake in the oven (c. 350F) until the tops of the potatoes are golden brown, and the stock has evaporated.  The result - melt in the mouth fondant potato.

I have found Marfona to be the best variety for this recipe, but they also make wonderful mash and jackets.

valmarg