Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi,just wondered what your favourite tasting and best yielding early potato has been in your growing experiences.
Here's mine so far :-
best yielding-Rocket,but not that tasty
best tasting-Arron pilot
Thanks.

Hi Scallops and welcome to the Vine!

I'm with you on the rocket - it's my first year and the reason for selecting rocket was that it was the first you could plant for the earliest crop, and I'm impatient!

Doesn't have much taste, tho'

My very good friend Wellie, however, kindly let me do a 'taste test' with her four varieties, and I thought that the Roosevaal red skinned were GREAT, followed by Lady Cristyl, then the Swift and the rocket were equally bland.

All down to personnal choice, though, I'm sure!

If you do a search on 'gold standard varieties', lots of grapes are putting down there fav variety of lots of different crops - I'm finding that incredibly useful!

Happy growing!

__________________
Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 15/11/2008......there's gold in them thar...compost bins!......

Welcome to the vine !

Best yielding and tasting - Annabelle, very very nice.

__________________


An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.
Will Rogers

For taste it has to be Mimi, wins for taste over Arran Pilot any day, but yields were not as good.

__________________
All at once I hear your voice
And time just slips away
Bonnie Rait

I like most new potatoes, I think the tastiest I've grown in the past was 'Concorde' & I do quite like 'Rocket' as they are very early.Can't remember which I've had the best yield from, I only grow them in tubs & pots though so don't usually get that many to get vast differences.I'm trying 'Lady Christl' & a few others this year but haven't tasted any yet.

__________________
Into every life a little rain must fall.

Welcome to the Vine Scallops!

I'm trying Orla (first early) for the first time this year, got some Charlottes, which I love, but also trying Jersey Royals for the first time. Hoping they all have a great taste!

I grew Swift, Rocket and Duke of York last year. The only one of the three that I planted this year was Duke of York - way tastier than the others

__________________
Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Red duke of York - very sweet and scrummy. Deffo have again next year.
Pentland Javelin nice too.

__________________
I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

www.bradleyroundtwo.blogspot.com

is there a particular potato that is easiest to care for?

__________________
"I got a business card, 'cause I want to win some lunches. That's what my business card says: "Mitch Hedberg, potential lunch winner."
Gift ideas... fruit baskets or gardening kit?

Hi
I've tried International Kidney this year and very pleased with the taste of them, the early ones I uprooted (too early) yielded on average 2 1/2lb per tuber planted, been growing them in compost bags.
Tried British Queen as second earlies, not so pleased with that one, less of that special taste and they tend to split into layers when you cook them.
Got the seed potatoes from Alan Roman, good service and supply so will def go back to him next year.
best wishes
Sue

Just a quick point about British Queen potatoes Sue - don't boil them, they go to bits, so steam them instead - far nicer that way.

__________________
Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Foremost followed by Lady Crystl.

Both excellent taste and good croppers to boot.

__________________
Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

I love Pink Fur Apples partly cause of the funky name but also cause they look so much like toes and are fun to play tricks on children with and mainly that the taste and texture is just great.

PFA are my favourite for taste as well.............but they are a late maincrop and can't really be enjoyed until later in the year!

__________________
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've got Duke of York and International Kidney...............both taste really good, but the Duke is a much heavier cropper! I think International Kidney are a maincrop that are lifted early, so if I leave some to maturity the yields should improve considerably, I hope!

__________________
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)

Last year I would have voted for Charlotte. This year Cherie has it for flavour.
Good looking too.

__________________

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

I didn't get much of a crop sadly. They were planted on 4th April and lifted yesterday - flaming June - so soggy here the blight got them!

__________________
Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

I had Arran Pilot as first earlies - really tasty will deffo grow again.

My second earlies are Marfona - not as impressed although they are scarily heavy croppers and good for mash....but you always seem to get one absolutely HUGE potato off every tuber...weird....I mean really HUGE...as in triple normal baking size.

Got Desiree as my main crop which I think are probably ready now....

Alice,those spuds look amazing.
Great replies,this will all help towards next years selection.

I had a root around my Lady Christl this afternoon and took some home for the family tonight. Seriously tasty - Iona thought they were the best potatoes she has ever ever ever ever tasted even the OH said that if all my spuds taste like that I'll have no probs selling them -which is praise indeed.

__________________
Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Sewer Rat,
Thanks for the tip on steaming the British Queen potatoes, def not nice boiled.
And also lifted some more International Kidney yesterday, they were obviously much bigger than the ones I cropped too early but that extra special taste was much more elusive, so it seems you get more potatoes and less taste or less potatoes and keep the taste.
This has been a really helpful post, I think I'll stick with the International Kidney and lift early when they're still tiny and go for a different second early, plenty of tasty suggestions here to follow up.
best wishes
Sue

I share the sentiment, I'm just loving this thread! It is so interesting to know what varieties other Grapes are growing, and how they compare in your own personal 'taste test', because the names of varieties that 'keep cropping up' as favourites, would surely be a proper benchmark of the best tasting overall amongst us all? And I'm talking taste here, not yield. Please let's not go for yield?

I'd like to see similar threads started for every crop that we all grow, not just an overall 'Gold Standards' (no disrespect Piglet) so that each crop, say Dwarf French Beans, Greenhouse Cordon Tomatoes, Winter Squash, Sweetcorn, etc. get discussed properly as a separate thread in order to inform us all of performance, and taste, and only latterly is the yield was exceptional.

So, hats off here for, in my humble opinion, starting a thread of real use to everyone, and let's start some more, shall we?!

Scallops, truly brilliant, thank you......

Incidentally, Hazel, I share your personal 'taste-test' findings.
Out of the four I grew, Roosevaal was outstandingly tasty, red skinned and waxy. Parboiled then sauteed or oven-roasted it was 'dreamy'.

__________________
With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
BLOG UPDATED Sunday 2nd November at 19.30hrs

Yes I agree it's a great thread. I'm not interested in mass crops - can buy them in the supermarket. What I'm interested in is does one variety do better than another in terms of flavour- or in a particular area.
With respect Wellie, I think this is where Piglet was going with his gold standard thread.
Lets keep this up. It's information you can't buy in books.

__________________

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.