Allotments 4 All

I have grown some tatties this year, not sure what type, chitted from a bag of Morrison's cheapo spuds. Crop has been OK but not what I would call successful and want to do it right next year. I will be getting the proper seed spuds and am wondering which ones to get. The order of importance is,

  Taste..............the main reason I think we all grow our own,
  Size................preferably medium to large less work cleaning and peeling,
  Application.....chips or mash

Anything else is irrelevant. Any advice on type would be most appreciated.

  Robbo.

PS In case you hadn't guessed, I am a newbie to the GYO world.

hi, robbo, welcome to the site   ;D
..apart from earlies,we grow 'red spuds' as they don't seem to get slugged as much, this year we grew
swift as a very first early under cover
pentland javelin, rooster and vales emerald as second earlies
early mains..kestrel, lovely taste, large size, very good yield, no slug damage, desiree, again lovely taste, large size, really good yield, no slug damage either.
we were given some pentland something for mains, they're still in the ground so don't know about them  :)

Welcome to the site Robo... sadly taste is subjective.. Like Manics I have my own favs... Red Dukes and Epicure being among them. I suggest you go to a potato day next year and buy a few of lots of varieties and see what you like or what does well.....  ;D

Potatoes broadly fall into two types:  Floury and waxy - the more waxy the less floury and vice versa.
I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago and this year I've grown about a dozen different varieties (some in bags) to try and resolve matters. So far I've liked four out of four (Lady Christl, Vales Emerald, Vivaldi and Anya) which isn't very helpful!

The Alan Roman's site is quite good on descriptions but, like Saddad, I suggest the potato day is where you actually buy, otherwise you'll probably have  lot of seed potatoes left over.


http://www.alanromans.com/c-634-potatoes.aspx

I agree with the others regarding taste.

I would also consider pest & disease resistance along with the taste aspect.

Like you certain slugs have a taste for certain varieties plus some varieties are more prone to disease e.g. blight.

The following link might help with your decision making;

http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties/

Hi
just wondered what is a potato day? Never heard of them, and where would I find out about them? As I'd definitely be interested in getting a few different varieties to try next year, but don't need tons of em!

Thanks

Here's an example...

http://www.thewhitchurchweb.org/potatoday/

Basically a collection  of sellers with loads of seed spuds that you can buy in very small quantities.....

... and, if you're lucky,  other attractions such as beer tents.

And to confuse things even more, potatoes are often fussy about soil, micro-climate and so on. I love King Edwards, but they don't produce well on my plot, ie. plenty of spuds, but mainly small, even in a wet year.

I've settled on Lady Chrystl for an early, Charlotte as a salad and Desiree as a main crop; then a mixture (often including Picasso, Kestrel, Roseval & Pink Fir Apple). But I always grow at least one variety I've never grown before.

We don't seem to have potato days in our area, but an alternative is to pass seed potatoes around the site; we often end up growing half a dozen of a different variety, just to see if we like it. (That's how I first came across Roseval.)

I don't know how comprehensive it is but here's a list of potato days that took place in 2007.

http://thewhitchurchweb.org/potatoday/potatodays.htm

I like Lady Christl and Kestrel best. The red ones don't seem to perform well on my plot. I've tried quite a few others but I keep coming back to those two.

I like Pentland Javelin and they stay near the root of the plant so less digging (thats important when you're getting on) We have grown some Nadine and some Desiree too. Have to wait a while to comment on them

I have no favourite, & no year is the same with us.

I grow for the convenience, freshness, & no scrub/no peel of New Potatoes.

And for the wholesomeness of the Mains.

It is seldom that I get a potato that is unpleasnt. I'm no gourmet in this area.

I prefer Rocket for a first early, my first row went in on 7th Feb, followed by a further 6 rows at 2 week intervals, I follow these on with Kestrel, Marfona, Cara and Pentland Crown. At present digging Marfona, a good allround spud, lifting some large bakers.   

Quote from: manicscousers on July 18, 2008, 14:46:17
early mains..kestrel, lovely taste, large size, very good yield, no slug damage, Desiree, again lovely taste, large size, really good yield, no slug damage either.

Totally agree.  Kestrel and Desiree everytime.  never fail. always get bumper crops.  Wouldn't grow anything else now.  May add additional varieties, but would never go a year without these 2.

I dont bother anymore with Cara, Verity and Pentland Crown, they have always let me down.

I along with some of the others love Lady christal for earlies and anya for salads but this year had ulster sceptre as freebies from t& m and they have been great , very versatile as they boil,  bake, roast and fry for chips. not too floury and not too waxy . will get them next year

I believe that the condition of the soil is key to good potato growing. Cara (especially when blight has been about), and Pentland Crown have never let me down. But then I do spray my potatoes. I always use 1 part full cream milk to 10 parts water, last year blight can be a few plots away but mine survived.

Quote from: Squashman on July 19, 2008, 19:20:02
Cara (especially when blight has been about) 

Cara is supposed to be rated highly for good blight resistance and disease resistance.  Was the worst crop I have ever had.  Most riddled with holes, fewest and smallest of the 6 varieties I had planted. :(

Mine was wiped out by blight last year, but that was exceptionally early. I'll try it again.

I usually only grow Desiree(maincrop) potatoes and true to form I went off to the local garden centre and bought my Desiree seed potatoes.

Earlier I visited the plot and noted that some of the haulms  looked like they were dying off.I decided to dig them up incase they were diseased or something and didnt want it spreading.This is what I found?????.Not Desiree at all.So I havent got a clue what I will be eating for dinner later on.

I have completely fallen out of love with Red Duke of York this year. Tasteless and sloppy when boiled, but a good big crop. Charlotte on the other hand is wonderful in every way, proper new potato taste and texture and keeps quite well.