Good for boiling or steaming. This traditional, first … In 1872 Luther Burbank developed a new hybrid potato with disease resistance to the blight that was affecting the world, in particular the Irish potato crop. Excellent yield and flavour. All rights reserved. Red Gold. 'Annabelle'
It’s not … Freshly harvested, home-grown potatoes are one of life's little pleasures. Maris Piper The most widely grown potatoes in the UK as they’re great roasted, mashed, boiled, chipped or baked, despite being dry and floury. Like it or not, it may be only British varieties this year. It usually makes larger tubers and we aim to grow ours very large. // -->. Stores well. Maincrop with some blight resistance. The potatoes are ready to plant when the shoots are about 3cm (1in) long. Mark Diacono shares his tips on the surprisingly simple yet hugely rewarding art of growing courgettes. Maincrop potatoes are probably the most recognisable varieties and they store well. Potatoes are divided into three groups. 'Pink Fir Apple' AGM, perhaps the original salad potato. (late maincrop). Growing potatoes in bags is a great way of getting a useful crop from a small space. Good scab resistance. Apparently this variety was Percy Thrower's favorite potato. Early potatoes can be planted in rows just one foot (30cm) apart, while maincrop potatoes need at least one and a half feet (45cm) between rows. 'Sarpo Mira' a floury potato which stores well and has good blight resistance, a good variety to grow for the first time potato grower. userfirst = "nick.gray";
A heritage potato. Which potato to grow. 'Maris Bard' - a very early salad/new potato with good yield and disease resistance. (Marshalls). A good salad potato ideal for boiling and steaming. My weakness for small, waxy early salad potatoes, steamed or boiled, saves me a fortune on expensive, early-season new potatoes, but also makes gardening easier as most are sown, grown, lifted and eaten before any hint of blight; this also frees up space for later crops such as courgettes and squash. As is Charlotte, King Edward is so much better homegrown than bought and is an Early Maincrop that makes famously good roast potatoes. It’s a high-yielding Scottish Second Early that’s ready to lift ahead of King Edward and makes great baked potatoes, too. Early potatoes are also the most expensive to buy. All-Blue has dark, purple-blue skin and lighter blue flesh. Harvest from late August/early Sept. 'Blue Danube' also known as 'Adam Blue', purple skinned potato with white flesh. 'Sharpe's Express' a good flavour, but not a large crop off of each plant and has poor pest and disease resistance. 'Ratte' AGM, a second early, French variety similar to Pink Fir Apple, with long tubers and yellow flesh, but with a white skin. What potato to grow depends mainly on what you want – different varieties are best suited for various dishes and cooking methods -boiling, baking, roasting, chipping, mashing, salad etc. 'Rockstar' - a new variety to Marshalls in 2014. Kestrel potatoes are one of the best British potato varieties to grow yourself. I grow International Kidney every year. Red Bliss. 'King Edward' - a late maincrop variety with good resistance to slug damage. It’s good to have a few all- rounders that turn well to a few kitchen uses. Named the Russet Burbank it is used by McDonald's for their fries. How to plant potatoes. If space is at a premium, plant first early varieties, which will free up the veg patch sooner or plant in containers on the patio or unused pathways. 'Lady Balfour' an early maincrop potato. Harvest from June. Additionally, we are continually seeking out new varieties to grow – perhaps new to us but they could be 50 years old! Arran Pilot - First Early. Other varieties which are well known to us as top quality roasters are Kerr's Pink, Arran Victory and Sarpo Axona. My other First Earlies will be probably Foremost — a delicious English variety with strong common scab resistance — and Rocket, a superb, high-yielding Scottish potato with good all-round disease resistance including common scab. 'Maris Piper' a very well known variety. The flesh is creamy, with a waxy texture … 'Hunter' - good blight resistance, harvest from June. website = "UKGardening";
Potatoes are a relatively easy crop to grow, but like all things that grow they are susceptible to diseases and “eating things”. Grow your own new potatoes for Autumn & Christmas Second Cropping – ideal for growing in exhibitor bags and potato tubs. Long narrow tubers with pink skin and yellow flesh. There needs to be at least 60 to 70cm left between each row to give the potato plants enough room to grow and expand. ‘Pink Duke of York’ (first early) Potato ‘Pink Duke of York’ has white flesh and an earthy taste. Harvest second earlies from the end of June to the start of August. If you can find Salad Blue, it’s another to grow for mash. Carlingford – the original ‘Second Cropper’ and still the best. 'Salad Blue' an unusual maincrop potato with dark purple/blue skin with violet flesh. ‘Red Gold’ ‘Red Gold’ offers a … It is somewhat mealy, making it good for baking. Casablanca Relatively new variety. Credit: Terry Brooks / Getty Mark Diacono runs through his go-to list of British potato varieties to grow — and explains how to help them avoid the dreaded potato blight. A super early potato crop bridges the gap. It’s high yielding, too. Easy to grow and good for growing in potato sacks and containers.
The cultivation of potatoes originated in South America, where the Incas of Peru grew them for food some 10,000 years ago. One of 3 varieties I grew in. French Roseval red tuber with yellow flesh, 'Vitelotte' purple potato
Growing plants specifically to harvest their roots takes faith, patience and nerve, explains Mark Diacono, but it's well worth the. They also require much less space to grow than later varieties, so are ideal for small gardens. For my other Second Early, I think I’ll go for Anya. ‘Maris Piper’ is easily one of the best known varieties of potato, and for good reason. That being said, you'll have by far the best success when you think carefully about your needs and select varieties for your climate and situation, because each variety has unique qualities that make it well-suited to a certain place or purpose. Will also grow in most soil types. Accord High yielding, early bulking variety that hold their shape. However, a couple of varieties have been bred to survive the UK climate and with our hints and tips on growing them you can expect a reasonable crop in many parts of the UK While second early potatoes and main crop potatoes can successfully be grown in pots, first earliest are what we recommend you grow … Learn more about red potatoes varieties in this article. Harvest maincrop potatoes in August, when the foliage starts to die back, but leave them on the surface of the soil for a couple of days for the sun to dry the skin, this helps them last longer in storage. If you’re looking for a unique-tasting tater, look no further. I have rediscovered my love for mashed potatoes these past few years and not many make mash as fine as Kestrel. We offer this as our mid-winter potato … Looking at the list of varieties is similar to going through a box of old records; so many remind me of years past, before my head was temporarily turned. Kidney-shaped with a good flavour and decent crop size. In my view the best tasting potato introduced since 1960s. The taste is reminiscent of Victorian potatoes, but what makes Kestrel so special is its ability to excel in all cooking purposes. Abbot Very early variety with high dry matter. 'Marilyn'
The best tasting potatoes to grow Categories of potato. As with all the types of cooking potatoes, the … Potatoes with red/pink or purple/blue flesh are as easy to grow in your garden as any other potato and, if you ask me, way more fun to harvest, cook and eat. Find potato varieties to grow, or learn about the different types of potato available. Sweet potatoes are native to the sub-tropics and grow best in temperatures above 70°F / 20°C and in humid conditions. 'Maris Peer' - one of 3 varieties I grew in a potato bag in 2011. We are often asked about the best potatoes for beginners to grow. Good for chipping and roasting. 'Belle de Fonteney' - a second early/early maincrop French salad potato with a waxy, pale yellow flesh. It’ll have a row next to an old variety for which I have a soft spot: British Queen, which makes equally good roasties. 'Sante' an early maincrop potato with good disease and pest resistance. Simply work through the steps below, take a look at our potato varieties chart and find the best potatoes for you to grow at home. Information on this site may not be copied, republished or rewritten in any medium, including electronic and print formats. Good for containers. Living in Devon with high rainfall, I’ve become familiar with blight and how to minimise its potential impact. Potatoes with red skin are not only pretty, but their bright color makes them extra nutritious as well, and those aren’t the only reasons for growing red potatoes. 'Duke of York' a waxy, salad potato particularly when first harvested, if left they are a good general purpose potato. First early seed potatoes need to be planted at a depth of 10cm with at least 30cm between each potato. Good for roasting and baking. Floury and delicate in flavour, this Victorian Early Main-crop variety has a wonderful blue flesh and skin and also makes great roast potatoes. Arran Pilot Very early traditional potato, bred on the Isle of Arran and the most popular variety in the UK in the 1930s. Makes very goo… BEST POTATOES FOR ROASTING Many varieties of potatoes are good for roasting, in our opinion King Edward is the best. However, some potatoes need more room than others to grow. White potato ‘Maris Piper’ 'Congo' dark blue potato, All text and graphic content on this Internet site is Copyright © 1998 - 2021 Nick Gray &
Sarah Raven puts classic varieties and newcomers through their paces. Good for boiling and steamed, one of the best salad potatoes. This red-fleshed Scottish potato not only has great flavour, it has quite the pedigree, having been chosen to bring appropriate colour to the Duke of Burgundy’s meals at the Savoy Hotel in the 1930s. Earlies are very quick growing plants and usually the best new potatoes. 'Wilja' good yield, general purpose potato with white skin and floury flesh. Try growing in the ground, in large containers or potato growing bags.. January is the time to buy seed potatoes, but with so many varieties out there, it’s worth knowing which ones have the best flavour and biggest harvests. English, French or whatever, it is my stomach that helps me choose which varieties to grow: I pair them with how I want to eat them. Use our easy checklists below to help determine the best seed potatoes for your needs - whether that's a crispy roast potato for Sunday lunch, a new potato dripping in warm butter, or a large bowl of creamy mash. Salad potatoes are more waxy than maincrop, perfect for containers, plant in January, grow in rich, free draining compost, make sure they have plenty of water. 'Red Duke of York' AGM - A good all round potato with red skin and yellow flesh. 'International kidney' used as a good salad potato or left for a little longer and dug up as an early maincrop for general use. Great skin finish making it a good candidate for the show bench. 'Accent' AGM - A good cropper of small salad/new potatoes, pale yellow flesh, remaining firm after boiling. Potatoes are versatile for a wide variety of culinary uses, make a great storage crop and are generally simple to grow. I love them, but, delightful as this Continental affair has been, it has rather clouded my memory about the pleasure of potatoes from these islands. And I like it. Discover first early, second early, main crop, & salad potatoes. domain = "ukgardening.co.uk";
Potato varieties grown in the UK - http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/varieties. In fact, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. A firm, creamy potato with white skin and pale yellow flesh. Cream skinned oval tubers with a smooth textured cream flesh. This year, my hand may be forced: the twin delights of Brexit and Covid-19 mean that no one knows if, when, or for how much they might be able to import and sell varieties from the EU. The hundreds of different potato varieties can all be categorized as either starchy which are fluffy – such as russets or white potatoes – or as waxy – including colorful potatoes, fingerling varieties, or new potatoes. 'Arran Pilot' a waxy potato that is ideal as a salad or a new potato. You’ll probably know Char-lotte from the shops and, although I usually go for less common varieties, this Second Early is one that is a real flavour upgrade on those you can buy. Grow them at home and you can choose varieties that have the finest flavour and texture – and you get them cheaply and for little work. If you have a greenhouse then you can also get a very early crop. A good resistance to slugs and eelworm. Blight-resistant varieties, such as Sarpo Mira, really work. They are varieties that can be lifted early and waxy or left to become larger and flourier, stretching out their season and widening their use from waxy salad to baking, boiling and for frying into chips. It’s grown commercially as Jersey Royal and, although technically an Early Maincrop, most — me included — harvest it as a First Early. Good disease resistance. document.write('
'+website+'. Growing your own vegetables is a wonderful hobby – the taste of freshly harvested potatoes and peas eaten an hour after harvest is just amazing. First early varieties are less likely to be damaged by pests. Good for roasting and chips. It has white, fluffy flesh and is great for baking, mashing and roasting. Potatoes are generally grown from tubers known as 'seed potatoes'. Dig early for lovely salad potatoes or mature for great bakers. 'Rocket' a good disease resistance and produces a large crop or round white skinned potatoes. A reliable old favourite that remains as popular as ever! Plant in July or early August for a mid-Winter crop. ');
We have a licence to grow from many different potato companies, as well as exclusive rights to many varieties and so our range is the best in the UK. I grow few late potatoes as blight is a familiar tedium here in the rainy South-West, but, if I’m tempted, I might go for Golden Wonder, a Late Maincrop from Scotland that is great for baking, roasting and for chips. Obviously, prioritising early varieties helps as they are harvested before the prime midsummer threat of blight appears. Mark Diacono runs through his go-to list of British potato varieties to grow — and explains how to help them avoid the dreaded potato blight. Chitting or sprouting tubers extends the growing period and leads to earlier tuber formation and higher yields. 'Charlotte) can be grown as late season potatoes. Main crop take longer to mature, are much bigger plants but have the advantage of storing very well. It was bred in Scotland from Desiree and Pink Fir Apple, with much of the flavour and texture of the later, but fewer nobbles. Regardless of variety, all potatoes prefer an open sunny position away from frost pockets and need high nitrogen, so are best planted in … Usually by the time the first crop of the season arrives, the maincrops are near past it. Potato varieties grown in the UK - http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/varieties In 1872 'Picasso' - large crop size, good for mashing and baking. How to grow a better potato and embrace the most interesting new varieties Save They offer a wide array of varieties to choose from, expert advice … 'Edzell Blue' purple skin, white flesh. Mark Diacono explains why mint is for even the incurably incompetent horticultural enthusiast. Some potatoes (i.e. Even if you do all this, once in a while, blight will strike: immediately remove the foliage and incinerate it, waiting three days to allow the skins to set, then lift them up and, if you spotted it early enough, you may be all right. Half boiled, then sliced and pushed around a pan with olive oil, garlic and shallot, it is superb. First early that are ready after approximately 100 days/12 weeks, second early are ready after 115 days and maincrop potatoes are ready after 130 days. With early potatoes, rub off the weakest shoots, leaving four per tuber. I have a few things to suggest, if it troubles you too. Highland Burgundy Red potatoes make eyecatching chips…. Instead, they were round, smaller than a golf ball, and dark blue in color. If possible, water the ground rather than the plant, as blight spores must land on wet foliage for the plant to be infected. Any potato will grow in ground that is moist, fertile and well-drained.
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Oval white skinned and waxy fleshed tubers for the ‘New Potato’ taste out of season.