Heritage potatoes please

[smallblueplanet]

Bet you want some, don't you?

Moi?

.............

[momol]

Have anyone tried it before ? I am just hoping to have the time...oh boy always get tempted with new project...

momol

[JennieAtkinson]

Anybody growing Shetland Black? I have tasted them, and seem to remember they were beautiful, but I was somewhat put off by the black marks, it looked as though they had some form of blight! Can someone convince me to grow them?

[Flummery]

I also grew them Jennie - but even more so than the highland burgundy, they got 'lost' in the dark soil! It was about 6 years ago and I got one of each of 6 varieties as little plants. Interesting experiment I wouldn't mind repeating in a better growing year! They cook better than they look!

[momol]

I haven't grow Shetland Black yet Jennie but it suppose to be less dark than the Salad Blue. As SB is also very high in pigment (said to be anticancer) it should be taken as a positive consideration....
Like Flum said, it is difficult to harvest due to it's dark colour but if it is grown in pots it should somehow make it easier to locate each and every tuber during harvest.
Hope somebody come out with more convincing persuasion....

Momol

[SarzWix]

As SB is also very high in pigment (said to be anticancer) it should be taken as a positive consideration....
Hope somebody come out with more convincing persuasion....

Momol

That's got to be the biggest persuasion for me! (And I wasn't even thinking of growing them )

[momol]

Sarah,

Any rich colour veggies are good including all deep colour potatoes ( Shetland Black, Blue Salad,Highland Burgundy Red, Congo...) as for taste and productivity wise, we have to ask the experienced grapes who grows them before...

Momol

[momol]

Chitting

Yipppiee my Highland Burgundy Red and Salad Blue potatoe seeds are chitting.... The tiny shoots are around 2 mm to 0.6 cm.
I wonder how are Seahorse and Veg's seeds potatoes doing....

Momol

[veg4681]

Mine are still in the envelope to separate them from mixing. I opened few and they're definitely starting to chit. I have 8 different heritage potatoes , 1 tuber each but I daren't take them out of their envelopes, can I leave them in there?

BTW what cropping groups do these heritage potatoes belong to:

Salad Blue
Highland Burgundy Red
Shetland Black
Witchhill
Yetholm Gypsy

Only last night I sorted out my other non-heritage potatoes for laying in the egg trays but there are so many I had to write the vareity name on the potatoes themselves. If my son messed them up, I'm so dead.

[momol]

Veg,

Have a look at the Alan romans web at the conservations potatoes:
Alan Romans - Conservation Potatoes
there you will find out which are main crop(HBR),early maincrop(SB) etc.

Why don't you set them at the eggs box/ casing and write their names individually on the eggs casing/box where the seeds being place, this way you will know exactly what they are... and then you can chit them by the window...

[momol]

Oh dear... I forgot your son...is there any spot he can't reach ? but still cool and get some light ? that will be the perfect spot ( free and save from him messing around)...
momol

[veg4681]

I've looked at Alan Romans website but all 5 conservation potatoes are under the category Conservation only unlike other non-heritage potatoes are categorised by its cropping group. I can't get no information from T&M either! I thought you might know at least the 2 of your conservation potatoes (Blue & Burgundy Red) with the growing instruction which surely must say what they are, earlies or maincrop. Kind of stuck here for that.

SORRY, didn't read each description properly. He could have written that out right at the top for God Sake!

[momol]

If you don't really know it doesn't matter that much, just grow them and when they start to produce flower ( means the tuber are starting to fatten up, don't harvest yet) wait until the plant turn yellow and start to dry/die(another 2 weeks or 3)...time to harvest...

my first potato growing was Bintje ( or nicola, don't remember), did the same trick and finally found out that they are main crop ( from counting the time it took to grow).
But to be sure, post it on and hopefully the experience grape with tell you...

Momol

[veg4681]

Sorry, I took the trouble to skim thru the descriptions against each conservation potato but only for Yetholm Gypsy he bothers telling it's an Early Maincrop !

Useless Mr Alan Romans or does he not know this info himself!!!

I guess I could treat them all as 2nd Earlies as a safe bet!

[momol]

They are all main crop for sure and the more detail info will show from the potatoes flowers... but it will only differ for 3 week or so, don't worry, just enjoy the gardening....
momol