Home grown potatoes tasteless

[lettuceleaf]

I have begun to harvest my potatoes. They are of differing sizes - some are quite large, large enough to use as baked potatoes and they look very good.

I boiled some for dinner last night and they taste of nothing! What a disappointment. I wonder what the cause could be.

I am wondering if the recent rain has got something to do with it. The ground is clay but I mixed in plenty of organic matter and sand.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and worked out what has gone wrong?

I think they are King Edwards earlies.

[Two_Sheds]

They might have absorbed too much water. I've just bought (I know!) some supermarket strawberries: they look perfect, big & juicy, but they taste of nothing

King Edward are a main crop aren't they? Not an early, although that wouldn't explain the lack of flavour, and you say they're big enough to eat

[Potstubsdustbins]

King Edward most certainly are main crop a very old variety and very well known. Normal harvesting time would be Sept. Have the haulms died back? Did you leave them to set skins?

Colin.

[Aberdeenplotter]

If you have harvested main crop tatties before they are ready, they will be tasteless. Leave the rest of them till the tops die back. King Edwards are one of the tastiest spuds so well worth the wait.

[arpoet]

I took 10 lbs of premier from a couple of baths last weekend and they too lacked much taste at first.. but seemed to improve after a couple of days in the fridge.
Roger

[Snadger]

Tatties are staple diet and not meant to have a lot of taste.

Its how you cook them and what you add to them that gives them flavour.

Jersey Royals are actually a maincrop that are lifted while the haulms are still green and used as earlies. They taste better this way, as anyone will know who've left them to mature and grow huge tatties which are tasteless.

King Edward are a maincrop which must work the other way round and develop their flavour on maturity! (Don't grow well in my soil, so I don't bother with em)

Its amasing what the addition of a bit of mint and/or butter can do to all spuds!

[Two_Sheds]

I'm currently eating some steamed Charlottes, and they are most certainly tasty, with a firm buttery flesh. Nom

[Germinater]

We had our tesco basic spuds I grew from a spare loner at the back of the kitchen unit last night .they had been in the fridge for a few days ,so don't know what effect that had .but had them boiled with chopped chives and dill from the garden and they were fantastic firm slightly waxy but also a little flowery brilliant with the fresh dill...can't wait for the proper seed potatos if that's what a well grown basics potato tastes like ...star of the show though was the calbraise from the garden ..honestly can say iv never tasted calbraise(broccoli) like that in all my life so much depth of flaver and different texture to shop bought and this was after I had stupidly over cooked it .got loads left in the garden and I can't wait to eat more .started another sowing today so I'm not to long with out it when this first lot is all gone also sowed red arrow psb ..

[Potstubsdustbins]

I have been lead to believe that you should keep/rest even new spuds for a couple of days before eating.

Colin

[lettuceleaf]

I'm new to this (as you may have guessed). I'm unsure if they were King Edwards. I should have taken note at the time. Some plants have flowered but the stems (haulms) are still green and vigorous. I've never heard of skin setting but have since read up on this. What skins there were, were easily rubbed off between thumb and forefinger. Agree, the way they're served up can make a huge difference. Here is a picture of the potatoes in question.
To the experts:
Do they look like King Edwards?
Do they look as if they've been harvested too early?
Many thanks.

[Germinater]

Maybe it has something to do with carbs being converted in to suger ??after lifting .spud is still alive and maybe preparing it's self for regrowing chits ???

[Germinater]

They seem A little pale for king edwards ..king edwards usually have some red taint to them .did you notice any red as you pulled them up ??

[shirlthegirl43]

I'm new to this (as you may have guessed). I'm unsure if they were King Edwards. I should have taken note at the time. Some plants have flowered but the stems (haulms) are still green and vigorous. I've never heard of skin setting but have since read up on this. What skins there were, were easily rubbed off between thumb and forefinger. Agree, the way they're served up can make a huge difference. Here is a picture of the potatoes in question.
To the experts:
Do they look like King Edwards?
Do they look as if they've been harvested too early?
Many thanks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]24540[/ATTACH]

They certainly don't look like King Edwards - they have pink eyes even when very small

[Creemteez]

Definately NOT King Edwards! King Edwards have purple flowers and the potatoes have very distinctive pink patches.
Could be one of many different "white" varieties. Sorry, can't be more specific!

[lettuceleaf]

They seem A little pale for king edwards ..king edwards usually have some red taint to them .did you notice any red as you pulled them up ??

No red at all. They were white, if a bit on the yellowy side.

What is the tastiest potato to grow? I may try those next time.

Potatoes take up a lot of room groundwise and for a relatively long time. I need to be more careful in my choice of vegetables next year given that I have limited vegetable plots. On the plus side, this year, I'll be able to feed the 5000 in August!