Where do you buy your seed potatoes ?

I've never bought seed potatoes. I use the ones bought for eating. I chit them and plant them in April usually. I've had some fantastic crops from doing this.

I would recommend potato days as you can buy exactly what tubers you want and you get loads of choice and they are often linked to associations that need the support and are a real experience. However in the past I have grown on-line bought, gc bought and supermarket specials. Where they initially come from doesn't seem to make a difference.

Our local garden centre at Parkhill, Dyce, usually has a large(at one time up to 100 varieties)selection of seed tatties and usually sells in quantities from 6 of each. I don't go past them if I can help it. Small independent GC's need to be supported or they could be lost.

For some of the show varieties, JBA are good and they also have an excellent range of varieties available. As an exhibition grower, I was particularly plesed that JBA took steps to ensure that Amour and Sherine were kept available.

spuds.

I've bought from potato day events in the past, or a garden centre, my local nurseries sell them lose, but for next year I wanted a particular variety called Athlete as it was highly recommended in Garden Which? Magazine and I found them available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. Which is useful as I can get a discount.

I do a variation, seed potatoes can be expensive, last year i got a couple of kilos of seed potatoes from the local seed and feed guy, they did the worst, plants grew massive and seemed to put all their energy into growing the plant rather than potatoes, when dug up i only got 2 or 3 potatoes from each plant.

I bought some seed potatoes from lidl when they get all their gardening bits in March time, these did quite good and i will be there first at the door when they get them in again. the red ones was especially nice.

Then (like i am doing today) a local supermarket reduces loads of potatoes (organic) some even have tiny eyes forming, these did my best last year but to be fair they were the most chitted so i don´t know if that helped.

In August the local feed guy had tiny potatoes to grow, i bought a kilo or 2 and put into pots, they did a lot better than i expected, considering i left them to fend for themselves in harsh hot conditions, i atleast tripled the amount.

Now in pots i have planted up some of the very very very tiny little potatoes dug up from Junes/July´s harvest. they had sprouted in the fridge and i thought i had nothing to loose and they are doing great still outside, plants are quite big but have no idea what they are doing under the soil with the potatoes i planted being so tiny might mean they do nothing. But i love to experiment.

I also have in my seed veg room a load of left over spuds chitting to go out in the new year.

I hope some of this ranting helped

I agree with Aberdeenplotter - I prefer to support the local garden centres. We have 3 round here that I use - one is a very small place less than a mile away and sells the standard varieties (Charlotte, Desiree etc), one is Wyevale which sells a decent selection, and there is my favourite (but furthest), Deans, which has branches in York and Scarborough and sells a fantastic range of plants, seeds etc. I feel a particular loyalty to Deans as I worked there for a couple of years pricking out spring bedding in their greenhouse.

I stopped buying from them when they stopped doing small amounts - they used to be brilliant for this so you could try various different varieties but no longer possible which is a shame. I did contact them to ask but didn't really get a satisfactory reply. They also no longer stocked my favourite first early (Ulster Classic) but nowhere else does either so am guessing it's a wider problem.

This shows what a sad person I am. We have a large Webbs at Droitwich and we go as near as we can after New Years Day when they put the seed potatoes out. They have quite a large selection and they have both loose and bagged up ranges. I spent ages rummaging through the seed potatoes last year. Kids weren't impressed with me. The went and sat in the book section reading all the Mr Men books.
I am following the true potato seed thread this year so might try and see if I can save any seeds this year. So might save myself a job next year. Yeah right

I use my local garden centre. He has a good selection, provides lots of info on each variety as well as giving feedback from other customers. It's miles to a potato day and I find it very hard to justify paying the postage for on line ones. I only grow a few - all second earlies due to blight although Cara grew on well last year.

I get my seed potatoes from a nursery near me Poplar Nurseries & wyeva1e,it bothered me once,the large amounts of seed potatoes in one bag,but you don't need to plant them all in one go,some can stay chitting,for months in good daylight. It's nice to have lots of different varieties to test which ones are best for yield,texture & taste also some are more disease resistant & store better than others. I don't use supermarket potatoes,those have had chemical treatment & I don't know if it would pass on to the next potato generation etc.
In this link on page 147 table 24 shows the pesticide residues detected on potatoes (more about potatoes on page 41).
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...15%20FINAL.pdf
Sometimes the pesticide level found,exceeds the legal limit. I'd prefer to not buy any supermarket fruit & veg,I'd like to achieve this one day. On page 38 pineapples,it shows they found ethephon at a level where they need to consider the effect on health in more detail.

Very interesting link Jungle Jane - glad I grow all my own veg! Trouble is the worst offenders seem to be fruit, which I can't grow enough of myself

Thanks for the replies all, plenty to ponder on there and Lisa, i loved your rant

Hi,I can see that you are from Swansea,I use Swiss Valley garden centre in llanelli.
They have a good selection and you can buy as many as you want.They have some there already.

Really interesting JJ, i only scanned it but will have a good read another day. I try my best not to buy vegetables from the store, if only i could grow my own bananas, pears etc.

What is horrible that it said the pineapple had 75% of the chemicals in the skin and that is fine for a pineapple as you do not want to eat the skin of that but lots fruits and veggies the most nutritional part is in the skin.