Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi,
Im just thinking about ordering my seed potatoes for next year, does anyone have any good advice about which companies/varieties they have had success with. I am looking for some that aren't too expensive as often they seem to have a high delivery charge!

Thanks

You've just hit my bit of advice right on the head! If you can buy locally, do! Try for allotment shops which sell seed pots loose, independent garden centres, or best of all, if you can get to a Potato Day, you're laughing.

Actually you are not laughing, you are coming home with more potatoes than you can possibly have room for, but you know what I mean!

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Tues 02/12/2008......End of year report!.....

I save mine from last year's spuds (I know you're not meant to, but its working for me so far).
Otherwise, if the Poundshop has some I grab them (got Desiree last year, brilliant crop given the weather wasn't ideal)

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I put in Desiree on May Day. I'd just removed the turf and dug the ground over (wrong..I know). Despite loads of growers losing their spuds to blight and having my plot under water several times throughout the season, they survived well. I'm still digging up lovely undamaged spuds. Was I just lucky?

Thanks Hazel, Ill probably try to search around more locally to try and find some pots! Desiree seems to be a popular choice, has anyone else had any sucesses with different varieties?
Thanks

Desiree is supposed to be a good alrounder - but there are SO many varieties out there, it is very difficult to choose!

I had room for 4 different sorts, so I grew rocket (very early, but didn't taste of very much!), nadine, kestrel (both fab) and Maris Piper which are cracking baking spuds.

I want to grow a waxy salad potato next year - charlotte seems to be a popular choice on the Vine, but I'm also tempted to grow one which is supposed to be blight resistant next year, in case we have another run of difficult weather.

So many choices.....

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Tues 02/12/2008......End of year report!.....

You shouldn't have blight trouble with an early Hazel. You usually get them out of the ground before the trouble starts. (specially if you can start them in pots in a greenhouse - extra early)

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

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

I had the (tasteless!) rocket out well before any blight, and the nadine and cara, actually, but those Maris Piper were whipped out in very short order as the blight marched down the Hill!

They were a good size, anyway, but I would have left them in the ground for another few weeks if I'd had the choice. I just wasn't confident enough to leave them in - just in case!

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Tues 02/12/2008......End of year report!.....

I had good yields last year from Charlotte (salad) in buckets, Harlequin (main-crop salad type) in spud tubs, and Desiree in the ground. Charlotte and Harlequin were harvested before the blight, Desiree got a touch of it on the foliage but I cut the tops off quickly, and the tubers were fine. The ones in tubs, especially Harlequin, needed plenty of watering & feed even in all that rain, as the foliage stopped much water getting to the pot!
I'm growing the same varieties this year, as well as trying a few different ones in tubs. (I do love potatoes!)
I buy most of my seed potatoes from T&M, along with a friend and we share the postage cost

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Do you need to put drainage holes in the bottom if you grow them in buckets?

Yes! (is the quick answer to that one!)

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Hiya
I buy mine from the garden organic catalogue, they have a good range and delivary is £1.25 for orders under £25, although the spuds themselves are about £6-8. I grew charlottes this year and they are lovely, really yeloow flesh with so much flavour, mmmm! Am going to grow them again as I got them in really early (feb) and although the leaves got attacked by blight, I chopped the leaves off and left the spuds in the ground for a few weeks and they were fine when I dug them up. I had one or two go manky but the rest have stored well so far, am nearly running out now tho.
Last year I grew pentland javelins from B&Q which were rubbish, no flavour and fell to bits when I cooked them.
This time Im going to grow charlottes again as they were so nice and am also gonna try sarpos for main crop as they are organic and also have very high blight resistance.
Ax

Thanks everyone, I think I might replant my tubers from last year, although its not advised! looks like the cheapest and easiest option

=]

I grew Arran Pilot as earlies and they were fantastic. Got the seed from a local supplier but they only sell big bags so there were too many for me (gave some to daughter). Got a bag of Desiree from the local pound shop, was a bit sceptical but they turned up trumps. Grew well, good yield and flavour. I like to grow a little of lots of varieties, but find the seed companies packages are very expensive.

Does anyone know if it is Ok to put my maincrop out to shoot again for next year now. Although this isnt advised, ive asked this on another thread and the answer was to put them out in the light now to get strong green shoots as opposed to leaving them in the dark and getting small shoots. Would like any opinions on this!

=]

I'm keeping my self-saved seed potatoes in the fridge for now. I don't want any sprouting before Jan/Feb.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Ahhh, but is temperature control the main thing that stops them chitting?

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I would love to get a few of the fancy coloured varieties that you can get in the uk. In Denmark we have a blue potato called blue congo, which could be cool to try for a bit of variation I know seed potatoes can be expensive, but if I was in the UK I would go crazy and try every kind I think

But the thing to do, is to find out what kind of potato you want, and then find one that will suit your needs. You can always see what your local suppliers have and then google it or look for it here before you make your decision. That if, if there is more than one kind to choose from
Uh can't wait for spring and fresh new potatoes

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Danish by birth, green by nature, Scottish by heart because of my darling and German by passion because of my Rottweiler puppy

I should think that they will prooduce white shoots in the fridge, which arent as good as green shoots?

Wow, simonytfc.... I'm feeling inadequate in the rude veg stakes.
No word of a lie, my mum has a book called 'Unusual vegetables' by j. Organ!

I think the cold does indeed stop them sprouting - think about what happens in the wild. They go through a dormant phase as tubers in the ground throught the winter, then when the spring starts to warm the ground they start sprouting. I'm sure I heard advice that to keep your own seed potatoes, you had to keep them somewhere cold and dry to stop premature sprouting. A cold out-building is ideal but a fridge should be fine as long as it's dry anough to stop mould forming.

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

I have my own saved spuds in my cold greenhouse. Admittedly I have now put newspaper over the trays to insulate them a bit. Prior to that though there was ice in the greenhouse and the spuds don't seem to have been affected. Foliage and chits of seed spuds are very prone to frost/cold damage, but I believe the un-chitted potatoes can survive a touch of severe cold or frost without damage. It's only when you raise the temp and the spuds start chitting that freezing temperatures can be a problem!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)