Very dissapointing potatoes - Can anyone help please?

[kermit]

Hi

I have just dug up some of my very first potatoes. Whilst there were loads of good sized ones, most of them were scabby and full of small holes!

Can anyone tell me why this happens and how I can avoid it next year?

Oh, and can they still be eaten?

Thanks

[FB.]

Tiny slugs holed quite a few of our potatoes and carrots last year - especially in the damper parts of the plot, due to the wet season. I think that thin-skinned varieties are also more susceptible.
The scabbed potatoes (potato scab, not slug-damaged) seemed fine for both eating and storing.

I'd suggest looking for some "slug resistant" varieties. We put some slug resistant one's in the ground this year, in anticipation of another damp summer, but we haven't dug them up yet and the Mrs isn't around to ask which varieties they are (she chose them).

FB

[Snadger]

Hi

I have just dug up some of my very first potatoes. Whilst there were loads of good sized ones, most of them were scabby and full of small holes!

Can anyone tell me why this happens and how I can avoid it next year?

Oh, and can they still be eaten?

Thanks

Scab on potatoes is not really a major problem apart from being a bit unsightly as it can be scraped or peeled off! Usually caused by Alkaline soils......that's why you don't need to add lime to the tatty bed!
The holes are a different kettle of fish and sound like keel slug or wireworm damage. Try cutting some open and you will probably find they are worse on the inside than they look on the outside. They are usually pretty useless if it's slug damage unless you fancy cutting away all the bad bits!

[kermit]

Thanks! I've cut a couple open and the holes are quite shallow. Once you get past the hole (or holes!) the potato itself looks great!

We have had a HUGE slug problem - is that the likeliest cause?

[Snadger]

Tiny slugs holed quite a few of our potatoes and carrots last year - especially in the damper parts of the plot, due to the wet season. I think that thin-skinned varieties are also more susceptible.
The scabbed potatoes (potato scab, not slug-damaged) seemed fine for both eating and storing.

I'd suggest looking for some "slug resistant" varieties. We put some slug resistant one's in the ground this year, in anticipation of another damp summer, but we haven't dug them up yet and the Mrs isn't around to ask which varieties they are (she chose them).

FB

I have grown 'Kestrel' this year which is supposed to be a slug resistant second early.
I dug half a row up yesterday and they were good sized tatties with pink eyes and no sign of slug damage.
I've had a bit of slug damage in some of my first earlies which were grown in the bed next door, so the claims of slug resistance seem to be true! Haven't ate them yet so can't comment on the taste though!

[MaureenHall]

I've been keeping an eye on one of the plots down the lottie, a "Community" plot that at the moment only our Community Policeman has been doing it when he's got the time. The potatoes looked as if they're about ready to dig up, so I dug 2 plants. Lovely big spuds, but almost all of them with lots of slug damage. Not 1 bit of them was wasted though, I cut the best bits out and used them for the mash on top of my cottage pie (mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy comfort food) and the holey bits I cooked and mashed with some pellets for the chooks. All gone in about 10 minutes flat!!! Anyone would think they haven't been fed for ages

[Demeter]

We just chop out the bits that have been munched - a few have been almost completely hollowed out (I've got so I can tell by the weight of them now lol) and gone straight on the compost but mostly you can salvage a reasonable amount. hadn't thought of cooking them up for the chooks, nice one!

Snadger, let us know what the Kestrel are like. And FB what yours are like if you find out the variety lol. Unslugged potatoes would be even better than slugged ones!

[FB.]

Snadger, let us know what the Kestrel are like. And FB what yours are like if you find out the variety lol. Unslugged potatoes would be even better than slugged ones!

I wanted to say "Kestrel" earlier, but as it was such an unusual name for a potato, I wasn't sure. I'm fairly sure that Kestrel is one of our varietes. I'll report back when we dig 'em up. One lot have just died down, so that might be the Kestrels that Snadger has just dug up. Our others are still leafy at the moment and look like it'll be some weeks before they get dug up.
Like I said earlier somewhere, I'm only moderately clued-up on veg; the Mrs "supervises" the veg growing and I just labour for her, so as not to interfere.
I deal with the fruit - the closest she gets to the fruit is to hold the trees upright when I plant 'em.

[Two_Sheds]

I had a lot of scab on the spuds in my new allotment (too limey). I will add even more grass clippings to next year's crop to make the soil more acidic.
Scab is just a cosmetic problem - peel if off and eat the spud as normal

I've had minor slug damage too ... fairly shallow holes, just cut out the bad bits and eat the rest

[JennieAtkinson]

With an alkaline soil, I've had scabby potatoes for the last three years, but this year I didn't manure with farmyard or horse manure I just used my own compost and my potatoes have been as clean as anything!

[markwcel]

i tend to add slug pellets before i earth up...seems to help...tho i know not everyone likes to use them

[FB.]

I have grown 'Kestrel' this year which is supposed to be a slug resistant second early.
I dug half a row up yesterday and they were good sized tatties with pink eyes and no sign of slug damage.
I've had a bit of slug damage in some of my first earlies which were grown in the bed next door, so the claims of slug resistance seem to be true! Haven't ate them yet so can't comment on the taste though!

Sorry to drag up an old post, but we dug out our "Kestrel" potatoes a week ago.
Despite all the wet ground in recent weeks, only a very small number of potatoes showed any damage from slugs (about 5%). More were damaged by the lifting process.
The Kestrel's were free from any other problems.

Yields of Kestrel were less than we expected. We estimate that the weight of potatoes that came out was about 3x the weight that went in.

Having cooked and eaten some in recent days, Kestrel seem to have a clean but plain taste. They seem to go to mush quite easily when boiled.

All-in-all, I think we'll be planting them again, since although yields was lower than hoped for, virtually the whole crop was completely undamaged by any pests or diseases without any use of chemicals, which is far more important.

Hope that's of interest.

FB

[Demeter]

Thanks FB for the review. Think I will give them a try next year despite the risk of low yield, but with something else too.

[FB.]

Dragging this old thread up again......

Having recently dug up some Desiree that were grown near to the Kestrel, the difference in yield was substantial.

The Kestrel produced about 3.5x the weight that went into the ground. The Desiree produced about 6x.
A small number of the Desiree were scabbed (maybe 10%) and a small number were holed by slugs (maybe 10%).

Even after losses to pests and diseases, the Desiree almost double-cropped the Kestrel.


edited typo's

[tattieman]

Wireworm usually occurs when potatoes are grown in an area that was grass and not cropped before.
Best slug resistant potato is Kestrel by far and King Edwards are pretty good.
Another good blight resistant potato is a maincrop called Sante.