Heritage potatoes please

[momol]

Dear Grapes,

My potatoes seeds from Alan Romans has arrived, they are Highland Burgundy Red and Salad blue.

Has anyone grow them before? do they taste good ? are they very sensitive to blight ?
I bought them because of their unusuall colour but got no clue about their taste nor growing habit.
Many thanks for any tips and advice...

Momol

[Flummery]

I grew the Highland red before Momol. It wasn't a good year (about 6 years ago from memory) so they were rather small. They were also VERY hard to see against the damp soil - whites shows up so much better. This resulted in odd red potatoes popping up here and there for several years! The flavour was good though.

[veg4681]

Seahorse has kindly donated one of each tuber so we'll see how they go. I'm growing in a pot so hopefully we're less vulnerable .

[momol]

Thanks Flum, glad to hear it taste good, yipppyyy... I don't mind even if they aren't productive... sounds silly I know... but I am looking for it's taste and beauty ( colour). The Highland Burgundy red is still not that dark IMO in comparison with the salad blue...pitch dark... will have to sieve the soil when harvesting... as I am planning to grow them in pots.

Veg, mine were the size of ping pong ball ( some even smaller), how big are your tubers ?
Are you chitting them now? I let mine chit in the garage by the window and hopefully by mid march they are ready .

Momol

[veg4681]

Veg, mine were the size of ping pong ball ( some even smaller), how big are your tubers ?
Are you chitting them now? I let mine chit in the garage by the window and hopefully by mid march they are ready .

Momol

Yeah quite small but they were specifically chosen to be small to keep the postage cost down (being kindly donated by Seahorse). All my potatoes are still in one big bag in the living room and I've noticed that Anya (supermarket one) is chitting already! I know I should really place them in the egg tray by the window but I don't have appropriate furniture by the window...or just my excuse.

[Seahorse]

As you might guess from Veg's posts above I have the same varieties too. Most of mine were pretty small but I'm such a newbie that I don't know if that's 'normal' or not

I've put mine in egg boxes in my unheated upstairs bathroom but no sign of any activity yet!

[momol]

As you might guess from Veg's posts above I have the same varieties too. Most of mine were pretty small but I'm such a newbie that I don't know if that's 'normal' or not

I've put mine in egg boxes in my unheated upstairs bathroom but no sign of any activity yet!

Claire,
I saw the potatoes seeds in the Garden Centre ( in NL), they are much bigger in size ( close to the chicken eggs) but again perhaps it is really depending on the variety I guess .
The salad blue will be very pretty, I read it somewhere, it has beautifull purple/ reddish leaves and very charming blue flowers( they will produce berries too). Did you bought them because of the colout too ? cool.

Ami,
They will chit even if you don't set them in the cupboard. It said to be better to chit them at the bright area as they will produce stronger ( chubbier) stems and not leggy.

Nevi

[veg4681]

As you might guess from Veg's posts above I have the same varieties too. Most of mine were pretty small but I'm such a newbie that I don't know if that's 'normal' or not

I've put mine in egg boxes in my unheated upstairs bathroom but no sign of any activity yet!

Thanks for the clarifications. It hadn't occured to me to use the bathroom window as we too have some space on the window sill but nothing in any other rooms. Still risky as my little boy will mess them up so I won't know which heritage potato is which or shall I write on them .

[smallblueplanet]

.....it has beautifull purple/ reddish leaves and very charming blue flowers( they will produce berries too).

Can you grow potatoes from the berries?

[momol]

Yes you can Manda and they will be disease free ... I am hoping to harvest some of the berries this year, finger cross .

Momol

[smallblueplanet]

A cunning plan momol!

[momol]

The tuber produce from the seeds( berries) will be very small but it will be your secure potato seeds...

[momol]

We live and learn Manda, it is a rewarding bonus isn't it plus by cross pollinating the flowers you can creat your own hybrid potatoes ( if it has any superiority)...sound very tempting isn't it ?

Momol

[smallblueplanet]

...you can creat your own hybrid potatoes ( if it has any superiority)...sound very tempting isn't it ?

Momol

Very God-like!

[veg4681]

Can you grow potatoes from the berries?

Bet you want some, don't you?