Suggested scab resistant potato varieties

[jessmorris]

Hi folks, second question - can anyone suggest the above? I have a slightly alkaline sandy clay loam, very short of humus, and live in a cool, damp, cloudy area with a short growing season....all suggestions very gratefully received!

[Penellype]

The best thing you can do is to get plenty of compost or muck and dig it in before you plant your spuds. Most riding stables will give muck away free if you bring your own bags and bag it up yourself. If you dig it in now it will have time to get mixed in nicely over winter.

there is a list of potato varieties and their charactaristics here:
The British Potato Variety Database

[Chippy Minton]

We grew Salad Blue, Highland Burgundy and Golden Wonder, the first 2 have mega-scab (but peeled they make lovely roasties :P) The Golden Wonder are fine so my vote goes to them in a carefully controlled scientific comparatory test (or bung 'em in and just hope )

Number 1 daughter picked the varieties, I think the GW might have been in the hope of a good crop of crisps

[solway cropper]

Just bung in as much muck/compost as you get your hands on and keep them well-watered. Dry conditions encourage scab and this summer has been a bit on the dry side...even in Cumbria!

[Kirk]

The British Potato Variety database shows only one: Maris Piper.
The British Potato Variety Database

Select Indexes, Varieties, then Advanced Search and from the drop down list pick: Resistance to Common Scab.

Just Maris Piper comes up.

Useful site for potato information, possibly too much information.

[Two_Sheds]

The only way I can get scab free spuds is to grow them in leafmould. Watering makes no difference.

I dig a trench out of my soil, and fill it with 1 or 2 year old leafmould. Spuds come out lovely & smooth

[Kirk]

The alkaline soil will not help, see the RHS entry for potato scab. Potato scabs / Royal Horticultural Society

What I find a bit strange is that the idea of certified seed being able to be sold with minor infection.
RHS says:

"Select seed carefully and avoid planting seed potatoes that have visible signs of scab. Legislation controls the amount of infection allowed in seed, but low levels are permitted "

Tend to grow my potato's in large containers now, and the one year I suffered fron scab was my fault - lack of water.