Grow Your Own Magazine

Just dug up one of my potato plans that is still in flower as this is my first time growing and am very inpateint and the potatoes are a good size but half the skins are purple in colour!

Is this because they have been dug up too early,

What make of potato are they?

I grew purple spuds one year, they were lovely. Had to move house though, and left them all in the freezer...about half an allotment's worth!

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I would'nt dig up your potatoes until the flowers and foliage die down.
As to the colour, its probably the variety that you planted.

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As long as they're not green they should be OK to eat. It's probably just the variety you grew!

Thanks, I didnt keep the packet, but they are certainly bright purple, are they grren if they are not ready?

Nope, just tiny if they aren't ready

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Shirley

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If they are green you have not covered them with soil well enough and they have been exposed to sunlight, plus they should NOT be used as they are then mildly poisonous.

Potatoes come in many colours, I suspect you might have Arran Victory which looks like something off the cosmetics counter at Boots when freshly dug. You can get: white skinned, yellow skinned, rose blushed white or yellow skinned, piebald cream and rose, rose skinned, red skinned, purple skinned, blue skinned. You can also get: white fleshed, yellow fleshed, red fleshed, blue fleshed.

Earlies can be dug once the plants have flowers on, how many you get per plant will increase the longer you leave them after flowers start.

Maincrops are the ones where you wait for the foliage to die back.

Any potato can be treated as an early or maincrop, it is the quality of taste and texture at the chosen harvest time, combined with the siz and quantity of tubers that gets them the label.

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Thanks Peter, I've printed out that info for my little green book, cheers

I grew a purple skinned spud one year. I waitied till they died down to harvest them. Couldn't find half the blighters - they were so dark they passed for soil. They have been coming up sneakily ever since!

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Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

A friend gave us a seed potato that had been 'worked on' in the university labs - purple inside and out! Grew really well but very strange. We cooked them and tried - very very waxy - didn't dare eat too many incase dangerous due to genetically modified! Daughter took one to school though - caused great discussions!

Hi NSB, it sounds like you may have grown a variety called Catriona, at one time a very popular exhibition variety grown for its smooth skin, shallow eyes and very attractive purple patches. It is also a very tasty 2nd early.