Advice on which potatoes to plant when to get a continuous crop?

[Eileandubher]

Hi there
I'm new to this growing business and managed to grow a good crop of Pink Fir Apples last year. Didn't really know what I was doing but grew them in a box made of old pallets. Unfortunately this turned out to be under a huge tree which blocked out alot of light however the crop was much better than I expected. I dug up the spuds and dried them off for a few days. Had a large plastic box and lined it with newspaper then place the spuds inside covering them with dried sand. Box then went into the garage. When I took the spuds out last week they were perfect. I will certainly store them like this again. Won't be growing them under a tree this year though!

[CityChick]

...I am going to do Earlies, Second Earlies, Early Maincrop and Late Maincrop this year in the hope of never having to buy shop potatoes again, I'll let you know if it works

Ooo.. what varieties have you chosen to grow poultrychat? (That's my goal too - not having to buy a shop bought potato again).

I've tried to pick some from each group (earlies etc) to extend the season, and also picked some that say they store well. Haven't got mine yet (just a long list ). I'm going to a garden centre that sells them loose, by the tuber - they've had everything I've wanted before, so hopefully I'll get everything I want this year too.

Eileandubher - nice to hear the Pink Fir Apple stored well. I must grow more of them this year to store (that's why they're on my list) mine have never lasted long enough to store before as we eat them all!!

[poultrychat]

First earlies - Rocket
Second earlies - Charlotte
Maincrop - King Edward - I think it might be early maincrop?
Late maincrop - Golden Wonder

I have got 20 tubers of each courtesy of T&M

Last year was my first year in my new house so I only did Charlotte and King Edward, they were both brilliant, the K E suffered a bit with slugs but I did a lot of slug patrols after dark and before sunset over the winter so I am hoping it will be better this year

[Nicos]

Charlotte is our favourate spud and we grow it every year plus a 'guest' variety. Although it is waxy we crop it as a tiny salad potato through to jacket size.As we have very bad blight every year, as soon as it hits, we can dig up the remaining crop to save it. Last year we were given a Hungarian potato as part of a trial as it is supposed to be blight proof. Indeed it was and was also tasteless and gluey. Awful! Never got to know the name so can't warn you off it, but it did have a pink skin. It showed no signs of blight at all and ,as we had planted it in the middle of the other spuds, the blight was slower to set in to the Charlotte potatoes. I understand that blight is supposed to start in the centre of a potato patch and work its way out. This year the guest potato will be Rocket - waxy and white as opposed to waxy and yellow!

[CityChick]

"Sarpo" ones are new on the scene. Pink, Hungarian and marketed as having exceptional blight resistance... That sound like it?

Its on my list to try this year (only about 4 spuds to see what its like), although I think there are several sorts of Sarpo (8+?) Sarpo Axona is the one I'm hoping to get loose from at a Potato Day, or from a garden centre.

I'm not sure its fair to compare it to Charlotte, as its supposed to be an "all rounder" and I thought Charlotte (hmmm... getting hungry now!) is a new, waxy sort.

I'll report back on what its like... in about 9 or 10 months

[Nicos]

Yes- could well be! If you are only trying 4 plants then it's worth a try, may suit your soil better than mine. They cropped well and were ok to roast but mashing them was a bit like being served a plate of wallpaper paste!!! Hope you have more success than we did!

[Clarea1]

I just managed to get hessian sacks from the garden center, the potatoes they sell come in them. They are going to save me some to collect next week!

I was the first person to buy seed potatoes, they came in today. I got Arran Pilot but would like another variety too, not sure what yet.... decisions decisions.....

[suee]

Storing newly arrived seed potatoes

Hello, this is my first attempt here.
Is Geordie looking? I think you may be able to help me - or any other kind soul: I've carefully chosen my potato varieties and have just received them - first earlies, second earlies, first main and late main. How do I store the ones that I won't be planting for some time? I've collected egg boxes for chitting and will start off the first earlies as I want to plant them at the start of April when we get to France for the retirement. Yippee! For chitting, I have a choice presently of freezing cold hut, dry and dark garage, or top of wardrobes in bedroom. I'm thinking I can hold back the chitting for the later varieties by keeping them dark (black poly bag?) and maybe cold?
Many thanks and happy New Year to all, Sue X

[Geordie]

Firstly,

I wish you well on your relocaton and retirement.....I hope it brings you everything you wish.

Secondly, I cant believe one of your concerns is chitting potaotes...but here goes:

Chit the earlies when you get them....dont worry if you knock off the 'sprouts' in transit or whatever, as your seed potato will still grow and produce a crop.
For the mains ...... there is a sort of mathematical formula - I will try and make this as easy as I can to follow!

What you need to do is alter the physiological age of the spud or chitting seed potatoes by controlled sprouting to provide an opportunity to promote earlier crop emergence, tuber initiation and bulking. Encouraging early emergence with the aim of producing good canopy cover by mid June will extend the growing season, in the early part of the year when light quality and intensity are high. This increases the potential for light entering the leaves to be converted into plant dry matter and partitioned into tubers. (Hope you are still with me!)

Physiological age measures the ‘ageing’, of seed during chitting and is determined by the cumulative number of day degrees above 4°C following dormancy break. Physiological aging begins when the sprout has grown greater than 3 mm in the eye.

The aim in chitting late maincrop varieties eg 'Navan' would be to accumulate 250-300 day degrees prior to planting. Working back from a target planting date of, for example, 20 April and allowing seven days for dormancy to break, seed set up on 1 March assuming an average daily temperature of 10° C, would accumulate 264 day degrees, that is, 44 days(March 1 to April 20 less 7 days for dormancy to break) x (10 °C – 4 °C) therefore
44days x 6 degrees = 264 day degrees

On the other hand do not chit any of your potatoes....they will crop fine just a little later than chitted ones.

As to where to chit them I would go for on top of the wardrobe.....temp needs to be min 3 degrees (rules out hut)....need some degree of light.....rules out garage. Cool spare bedroom near window is ideal.

Finalyy, keep us updated and jealous of your move to France

[suee]

Chitting potatoes

Thanks so much Geordie, that's a fantastically detailed reply - better get the calculator out! Best wishes, Sue.

[Nicos]

Potatoes in transit

I don't wish to put the dampers on your French retirement plans - in fact I am more than jealous - but I have a niggling feeling that there are rules on cross border transportation of potatoes to prevent migration of soil and seed diseases that could prove disastrous to the new country's agriculture. I may be wrong, but I think it would be as well to check with DEFRA. Best check with them as it'd be awful to have all your pre-chitted spuds confiscated by the French authorities. I have checked the web and have located the details below that may help your enquiry. Please let us all know what they say, as we all have hopes of retirement to France!

The local office to you is

Senior Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors (PHSI) - England and Wales
East Anglia (South)
Defra
Government Buildings
Beeches Road
Chelmsford CM1 2RU

Tel: 01245 490886
Fax: 01245 347294
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/co...lanthealth.htm

[Mucky Lizz!!]

Hey,
From one Black Isler to another!! A few years ago I bought seed potatoes which never chitted, and never produced a crop! I had some left over tatties from the supermarkets, which had chitted, I planted them and had a wonderful crop!!! In supermarkets now, they must put on the variety, so if you pick your favorite variety from a catalogue, take a look at the supermarket- you get more tubers for your money!!

[Geordie]

I understand the arguments for growing supermarket or left over potatoes but the whole idea of using seed potatoes is that they are certified as disease free.
99 times out of 100 you may not get any problems but there is a chance you will import a potato disease using a supermarket variety. Please try and use only certified seed potatoes.

[Jaxom]

Some of the heritage potatoes that are available now have taken years to clean up and get them certified as free form disease. The diseased potatoes of some type were the only ones known to be still in existence. These types of potatoes tend to be in the hands of family growers, who have always tried to use the best of their crops for the next year. With out these family growers we would have lost so many types of potatoes.
Having said that... when I grow potatoes I need to know that they are with out problems that could cause me many future problems to come.
If I was unsure of a potato then I would only grow it in a continer that could be distroyed if it turned out to carry blight or some other disease.
Jax

[nick the grief]

I understand the arguments for growing supermarket or left over potatoes but the whole idea of using seed potatoes is that they are certified as disease free.
99 times out of 100 you may not get any problems but there is a chance you will import a potato disease using a supermarket variety. Please try and use only certified seed potatoes.

That was lucky, I've just given more or less the same answer in another thread, I knew reading all these books on a dark night would work eventually!

I have to say Geordie, I was impressed with the answer you gave earlier on in hte thread, you ought to get a job as a college lecturer or the like ... or are you already

ntg