Can you recommend.......

[Cloud]

a good all round maincrop potato?

Over the years I have tried several varities but have yet to find a good all rounder.

Was thinking maybe Desiree.

[hawthorns]

im growing desiree this year. the last 2 years i grew stemster and they were superb

[Aberdeenplotter]

Some of the older varieties are the tastiest such as Kerr's Pink and Golden Wonder. Of the more modern varieties King Edward is a good un

[zazen999]

Amorosa and Kestrel.

They call them second earlies, but we grow them as main crops and they get just that little bit bigger - superb potatoes.

[sarahspatch]

I've grown Rooster the last 2 years and they are a great all-rounder.
Am growing Maris Piper this year as my husband reckons they are a good all-rounder, and lovely for roasties!

[Jono]

Another one for King Edward here. Found them really reliable.

[Kristen]

Another forum I visit had a poll recently, and the top five maincrop were:

Desiree, King Edward, Cara, Maris Piper, Pink Fir Apple, Picasso

(although Pink Fir Apple is a salad potato, so you might well want to grow that as well as a maincrop).

My suggestion would be to see if your local garden centre sells them "loose" then you can buy just a few tubers of each and see which ones you like and grow them next year. Quite a lot of the "flavour" will come from how you grow them - how much manure, what sort of soil, etc.

I find it difficult to store King Edward for very long.

[Lotsaveg]

King Edward always worse well for me

[Potstubsdustbins]

I don't think there is a truly correct answer to this one as we all have different growing conditions and tastes. For myself I have grown Picasso in my bins for the past few years and find them plentiful, tasty, and good keepers.

Colin

[Storming Norman]

Here's another vote for Picasso.

Its an early maincrop - around here that's very important for the blight issue we have in the south. You should get a chance of getting a decent crop before blight takes hold.

Good tasty bakers as well - still have a few left.

[gothmaga]

I am trying Desiree this year and from the comments above hoping for the best now lol

[Comfreyfan]

I turned up at a garden centre when they had a potato event on. I knew they had a good range of loose seed potatoes. Whoever the helpful chap was I talked to (for hours according to OH) recommended Desiree or Maris Piper as good all rounders. I went with Desiree as that's what I'd gone for anyway! They also sell loose onion/shallot sets, peas and beans - I'll definitely be going back there next year. (It's Monkton Elm Nursery, Taunton if anyone's round that way.)

[WendyC]

I have grown Desiree successfully the last few years and will do this year again. On the other hand I tried Verity last year and barely dug up more than I planted!