Potato advice please

[Verinda]

In my mums gardening notebook I see that she used to plant her first crop of potatoes around 17th March and her second lot in early June. I wanted to do the same but couldn't find anywhere here that sells seed potatoes this time of year.

So I bought a bag of organic potatoes in Tescos named Valor, I wondered if I could chit them and plant them, but I'm sure they're new potatoes, I couldn't find any old ones. I'm sure you can't plant new potatoes?

Should I just give up on the idea of planting these potatoes? Perhaps I'll be more prepared next year. I'll made sure I have some proper seed potatoes for the second lot.

Any advice would be very welcome.

Many thanks.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Valor are one of the latest of main crop potatoes to mature. They would need to be in the ground about 24 to 26 weeks.

I think I should give them a miss myself if we have any early frosts you would have a problem.

Potty

[rustylady]

You can plant supermarket potatoes Verinda, but look at the varieties before buying.

Go for an early variety (often sold as baby new potatoes), and yes you can plant them - they don't have to be "old" potatoes.

Good list of varieties and characteristics here The British Potato Variety Database

[Verinda]

Thank you both for your help. I think then that we'll eat the Valor and I'll look for a different variety to plant.

Thank you for the interesting link Rustylady.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm sure you can't plant new potatoes?

I'm not sure what you mean?

[Verinda]

Well, I just thought you couldn't plant new potatoes. Inexperience I guess.

[Two_Sheds]

I still don't know what you mean, and I don't want to insult you with my clumsy wording, but here goes:

All potatoes have to be planted. New ones (which we call "earlies") and old ones ("maincrop"), they are all planted in the same way: hole in the ground, drop them in.
Earlies are quicker to mature (because we eat them small) and maincrops take longer because we like them bigger (for jacket potatoes, etc)

[Verinda]

What I meant was that my mum used to keep some of her potatoes from the previous year to plant the following year as seed potatoes...so the potatoes she was planting weren't new as in just dug up.

I just didn't know if you could buy a bag of newly grown potatoes from the supermarket...being brand new this years crop potatoes and then plant them knowing that mum always planted potatoes from the previous year.

Hmm, hope I explained that properly

[Two_Sheds]

I just didn't know if you could [plant]... newly grown potatoes from the supermarket..

Yeah, course you can. Most of us try it at least once.


You're going to now, aren't you?

[Two_Sheds]

mum always planted potatoes from the previous year.

That was only because of the timing, nothing to do with the age of the (seed) potato.
Potatoes mature and are dug up in July (ish). If you plant them again in July, they won't mature for 3 months (ish) which is October, which is not going to happen in the UK (light levels and temps are just too low after August).

You can extend a potato crop slightly by putting it under glass (greenhouse) for autumn-winter, but crops, if any, aren't that great. The Xmas spud is the holy grail of home-growing.



Any potato can be planted at any time of the year, IF conditions (light & heat, and absence of blight) are optimal for the next 3 months (which is how long it takes, roughly, from seed to saucepan).

[Verinda]

Thank you Twosheds for that interesting information. Yes I'm definitely going to plant supermarket spuds. I'd like to plant some asap but still haven't found any suitable organic potatoes. I'm going to Galway tomorrow where they'll be more choice.

Next year i'm going to get more organised, I want to plant purple potatoes! Not sure where i'll get them though.

[rustylady]

Here you go Verinda Heritage Potatoes

[Potstubsdustbins]

SWMBO bought some Purple Majesty from AsDa they were quite nice. So I nicked a couple of sets to see if they would chit, they did and I now have a couple of buckets full growing in the back.


Potty

[Scarlet]

Look up Potato Days, you may find one near to you next year. I went to a local one when I was taking the kids to rugby one Sunday morning this feb/march.
I came home with salad blue, purple majesty and a burgundy one, can't remember the name now off the top of my head.

[Martin H]

Educational thread! Like the original poster, I had always assumed that if I bought a new potato from the shop, lovely and fresh with the skin falling off, and planted it, it would do nothing at least until the autumn.

I think I'll nick one from the cupboard and see if I can get some autumn new potatoes off it.