Potatoes again

[vron]

We have just taken over a full allotment, we had 1/3 of a plot first, but now the full plot is ours. We have had a fairly good harvest with this small plot so far.

In the past we have grown Maris Piper potatoes in tubs in our garden with success plus various new potatoes that we have brought from the supermarkets and chitted. We now intend to grow our potatoes on the allotment.

Q1: Are there any rules that say we can't use potatoes that we buy from the supermarkets, for example would they be disease resistant etc. So would supermarket bought Maris Piper be ok.

Q2: Are there any seed potatoes like Jersey Royals/mids out there that can also be bought for growing on our allotment.

Q3: Why is my Avatar not showing anymore??????

Would be very grateful for the forums advice.

[Lesley Jay]

Your avatar is probably down to the forum software upgrade that took place this week. I will ask Ben our wonderful web designer to sort it out for you.

[nick the grief]

Hi Vron,

Welcome to the vine & congratulations on the new full plot.

1. You can use supermarket spuds but they aren't certified seed spuds & you could be introducing pests & diseases into your plot so I don't think it's worth the risk. plus you miss out on a load of other varieties that never make it to the supermarket. There main constraints are looks & will it travel they are not too concerned about taste. & there are loads of other potatoes that I'd grow ( I usually grow about 6 varieties each year & I don't think many appear on a supermarket shelf)
2. International Kidney is synonomous with Jersey Royal so yes you can grow them
3. Not sure about your avtar. it is over size or something? or maybe it was when the last software update was done that it lost it.

[Alice]

Hello Vron, congratulations on your allotment and every success. In relation to your potato question, yes you can grow safely from supermarket spuds if you look for a Scottish grower. Scottish potatoes are disease free. That's where all the seed potatoes come from. Look on the bag for grown in Tayside or something.

I'm a bit surprised you opted to grow Maris Piper. They're usually grown for supermarkets as they give a good crop, but nothing else to recommend them. From the supermarket spuds you could try Charlotte, Nadine, Desiree , Anya, Pink Fir Apple (for salads) or Rooster (great roasters).

Hope you get a great crop from whatever you grow and keep us up to date with your plans.

[Snadger]

Hello Vron, congratulations on your allotment and every success. In relation to your potato question, yes you can grow safely from supermarket spuds if you look for a Scottish grower. Scottish potatoes are disease free. That's where all the seed potatoes come from. Look on the bag for grown in Tayside or something.

I'm a bit surprised you opted to grow Maris Piper. They're usually grown for supermarkets as they give a good crop, but nothing else to recommend them. From the supermarket spuds you could try Charlotte, Nadine, Desiree , Anya, Pink Fir Apple (for salads) or Rooster (great roasters).

Hope you get a great crop from whatever you grow and keep us up to date with your plans.

I have seen all the potato varieties you mention in the supermarket, apart from one, Pink Fir Apple! I wonder if Tesco's get them? I personally have just bought a 'pre packed' bag of shallots from Tesco's for 69p which I am going to try growing! I'll get my normal shallot's later and do a trial with them

[Burnzie]

Hi Vron, good luck with the full size plot.

Charlotte and pink fir apple are always a good choice.

Try and get to a "potato day" if you can. Usually a great choice and plenty of advice on how to grow them.

Tony

[Alice]

Can I plant shallots now Snadger.

[nick the grief]

depends on the type Alice. Some you don't plant till March otherwise they bolt. The old saying for shallots was

Plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest day

[vron]

Hi there Alice, thankyou to everyone for your replies.
We chose Maris Piper for several reasons, both of us eat potatoes on a regular basis, and we have found over the years that Maris Piper serve all our needs and are a good all round spud.

Excellent for roasting, baking, mashing and chipping, our four favourite ways of serving them. We are not that impressed/bothered by salad spuds.

King Eds are our second choice.

And who can resist lovely jersey potatoes, when they are in season. So as you can see we are easily pleased, we know what we like and prefer to stick with what we know.

[nick the grief]

Hi there Alice, thankyou to everyone for your replies.
We chose Maris Piper for several reasons, both of us eat potatoes on a regular basis, and we have found over the years that Maris Piper serve all our needs and are a good all round spud.

Excellent for roasting, baking, mashing and chipping, our four favourite ways of serving them. We are not that impressed/bothered by salad spuds.

King Eds are our second choice.

And who can resist lovely jersey potatoes, when they are in season. So as you can see we are easily pleased, we know what we like and prefer to stick with what we know.

I use Picasso for exactly the same cooking methods & they are V. Popular in the Grief house. King Edwards would be my choice as well but alas they don't doo on our plot very well.