Grow Your Own Magazine

I grow my potatoes in tubs/barrels - I did Cara this year and they haven't done as well as they've done in previous years (maybe it's just the weather) but next year I'm thinking of doing potatoes in one of my raised beds to give the tubs a rest. Anyone got any suggestions for heavy yielding potato plants? I need heavy yielding ones as I'm working on a limited space.

Also, do you think I could interplant with nasturtiums and dahlias? If not, could I do this with my courgette bed?

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

Hi, Andrewo, growing potatoes in large tubs is a very good idea, to me cara and not really that good but this is only from my expeience. Recently i have started to grow charlotte which are the best salad potato by far and i also grow pentland javelin which are a good all rounder
Potato guides will be avalible on my site within 6 weeks (link below)
http://seeds-for-success.co.uk/index_files/Page3947.htm
Hope this helps you
Adam

I'm sorry your pots havent done very well. I grew arron victory, catriona royal kidney, red duke and golden wonder in pots this year. All of which are finished except the golden wonder.

I got a good crop off each but the royal kidney were superd for uniform size not too many tiny ones but the arron victory live up to their reputation as being the best mashed potato. Red duke was a fast crop of good size spuds a with a relatively good yield. Catriona were a good size but slightly poorer yeild. Sorry thats not really all that helpfull I suppose but I know pink fir apple are supposed to be particularly good croppers

Hi,

My best yielding potato this year was Kestrel, a second early variety that is white with purple "eyes". I got four sackfuls from a 7ft x 4ft space. They made great mash potato. They didn't seem to flower they just died back all of a sudden and I had loads!

Elmo, I'd be interested to hear how your Golden Wonder have turned out in pots, as I have mine in a normal bed.

Clareg

I'll keep you posted they are just beginning to turn now, I think harvesting potatos is my favourite because you just don't know what your going to get

1st Earlies

Rocket always do well for me Andrew & Accent is another that a friend of mine grew this year that did well.

2nd Earlies

I've grown Nadine this year and they are doing well and if you fancy a red try Maxine

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

FWIW this is my experience of the spuds I grew outside in bins (standard refuse size) in central Scotland. Marks out of 10! Would I grow again? Yes/No?/etc.

Rocket: quick but tasteless. Flavour: 2mks. Yield good 8mks. No.
Swift: quick,poor taste. Flavour: 3mks. Yield fairly good 7mks. No.
Lady Christl: quickish, flavour better but unexceptional. 5mks Yield: 6mks. No.
Sharpe's Express: quickish, somewhat floury. 6mks. Yield: 6.5 mks.Probably.
Foremost:flavour disappointing 5mks. Yield: pretty good. 6.5 mks.No.
Carlingford:Slower as 2nd. early. Flav. so-so: 6mks. Yield good:6.5mks.Unlikely
Anya:flavour disappointing. 5mks. Yield: poorish: 4mks. Probably not.
Red Duke of York: Flavour: good 7mks. Yield: good 7mks. Definitely.
Maris Bard: Flavour: good 7.5mks. Yield: very good. 8.5mks. Definitely.

Grown in good soil with plenty of well-rotted dung. Watered heavily in dry spells.

Next year I'll probably try Epicure, Karlena, British Queen, and Edzell Blue.

It's subjective, of course, and we tend to favour the flourier types up here.
I'd be especially interested to here The Rat's reactions to British Queen.

By the way, Elmo, I think I read that Pink Fir Apple is a poor cropper- great taste but small crop.

If you haven't got Alan Romans's wee pamphlet- about £1.25 from his website- I'd recommend you get one. As a complete rookie tattie-grower I found it very useful in choosing varieties to try.

Our Anya cropped well but have an undistinguished taste as did Lady Christl, the Red DOY were very good as were the Maris Bard. We have British Queen, Rooster, PFA, King Edward and Sarpo Axona as main crop and especially await the rooster and British Queen. The King Edward always do well on our plot.

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated lots - Sunday 28th at 1640hrs

I was thinking of doing kestrel in the beds next year, have heard good things about them - nice to have it backed up with someone who has grown them. Suprised at Anya problems, they tend to grow well and have a nutty flavour, a cousin of Pink Fur - funny old year for tatties.

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

Hi Berr
Been a while since I was here but trying to catch up on posts tionight and over the weekend as wife away to Belfast for a hen night, and Iona's at her pals forthe weekend.
I grew 4 varieties in buckets / tubs this year, and have just harvested my British Queens and had some for supper tonight, so, borrowing your format, here's my list

Foremost; flavour good-7 mks, yield-neither good nor bad, 7 mks, Maybe
Arran Pilot; flavour superb-9mks, yield - poor - 4mks, Undecided
Charlotte - Flavour very good, yield very good, Definitely
British Queen - Flavour superb, yield excellent ( best cropper by far) Deffo !

Rooster still in the ground.
Have not grown Kestrel but it is very popular at the veg shows up here and judging by the perfectly blemish free skins, I think they were probably bucket reared for the showring. Looks like a contender for the bucket next year.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday 17th September

I would definately repeat growing Charlotte in containers. The yield was good and the flavour excellent. The yield from Rooster was superb. BUT not mad for it as a boiled potatoe but is EXCELLENT roasted.

I grew British Queens last ye3ar and got a great harvest. However when boiled they went into mush. I have since been told they're not suitable for boiling. Can anyone verify this.
Grew SharpesExpress this year and while the flavour is good the yield is poor.
Grew Charlotte in containers and was really pleased with their performance.

Bramble
British Queens are indeed a lovely potato but do tend to turn to mush when boiled - but they will be fine if you steam them instead- LJ mentioned this in a previous thread but it was a long time ago - I only remember cause I knew it was a variety I was going to try
Kerr's Pink do the same - voice of experience

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday 17th September

Thanks for that Rat.

Alice
Just want to second your opinion on Rooster - they are quite simply unsurpassed as roast potatoes. There are a lot of tattie growers up here and thay simply say that you won't get a better roaster.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday 17th September

What price its name was meant to be "Roaster"? It's Irish, after all! (don't tell your wife I said that- OR mine!)

B.

You won't get a better roaser than rooster.
Hows that rat
Adam

Adam
Maybe you should send that to the Potato Marketing Board - or whatever they call themselves now !!

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday 17th September

Looking thro my catalogues now for next years tatties and wondered what you thought of my list???

Only my 2nd year growing potatoes and dont even know what i grew last year so am trying to be more precise!!

1st Earlies: Rocket
2nd Earlies: Charlotte
Early maincrop: Desiree
Late maincrop: Golden wonder,

Does this sound like a good combo or i am going for something completely wrong??

My potatoes have all been rather dissapointing this year i think partly due to the weather and mostly due to me rushing things this spring and not preparing the ground properley, then being far too busy planning my wedding that i ignored the wasteland of weeds that developed - oh well! better luck next year.

I grew a wide selection:

Pink Fir apple: low yield but fabulous as chips (cut in half drizzled with olive oil and roasted )
Desiree: probably best of the lot for yield and flavour, good for mash and roasts
Rocket: dissapoiting but so were all of my earlies
Pentland Javelin: best of the earlies but small tubers and low yield
Lady Christl: terrible - turned to mush when boiled, low yield, won't grow again
Kestrel: so-so
Picasso: a bit on the small side but probably my fault! might try again with exhibitor grade in buckets next year

I have bought some Rooster potatoes from Sainsburys - they were delicious - best chips and fab mash too! I'm going to try these next year.

Vales Emerald i'm going to use as one of my earlies - i was at a Greenvale Organic potato day (i was giving a talk) and the buffet lunch had these as boiled new pots and they were delicious!

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There's vegetable growing in the family, but I must be adopted
Happy Gardening!

Am thinking of trying Rooster next year as well. We buy rooster when we run out of our own and i think they're a great all round potato. Am also going to grow cara. Did some in buckets and they were lovely.

How big a bucket to you need to grow pots, is it just a standard bucket, if so how many potato do you put in?

I've ordered some pink fir apple, rooster, cara, rocket and a couple of others I can't remember off hand. Haven't grown anything before so it was just close eyes and stick pin in the catalogue.

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Bex

I bought seed potatoes in Inverness from a general hardware shop. They only had Rooster and Red Duke of York so that's what I got - I was disappointed at first 'cos I was after King Edwards and I didn't know anything about Rooster, but in the end I was very glad I did! Got a good crop of very heathly Roosters, but many of the Red Duke succumbed to scab in the smae plot. Will definitley be going for Rooster again next year.

I use the black buckets sold in B&Q. I put 3 seed spuds in. I know some people will put in less but i always put 3 just in case one fails.