Tesco tatties

[Snadger]

Bought four bags of Desiree tattties half price at a quid a bag at Tesco's! I know your'e supposed to use only proppa seed tatties..........but at a quid a bag I couldn't resists!

I just last week paid £2.50 for a bag of Desiree seed tatties at Wilco's which were half the size of these bags.

I've told OH just to use the big tatties (which pleases her) and leave the rest for me to plant!

[Jay-ell]

Tescos? Everyone round me seem to go on about Morrisons whites and growing from the ones left in the bag.

[Snadger]

Tescos? Everyone round me seem to go on about Morrisons whites and growing from the ones left in the bag.

Big Tesco's at Kingo Park is where I got these. Haven't used them for cooking yet, probably blighted or summat!

[marchogaeth]

I think Two Sheds once said she only ever used super market Charlottes for her seed potato supply. I guess you want to be sure they are grown in Britain for cold tolerance.

[Jay-ell]

Which is better small spuds or large spuds? Do you leave all the eyes on or do you rub off all but one or two?

[Lumpy]

Large spuds can be cut in half if both bits have chits growing and I leave all of the growth on because I never know if the process of planting them destroys anything. So the more I have on my spuds the more likely I am to get a so so crop.

[Jay-ell]

I was wondering if there was a correlation between number of eyes/size of seed potato to the size/quantity/quality of the cropped potatoes

[Potstubsdustbins]

If you check their Co2 emissions web site it states their Desiree are grown in the eastern counties.

[Alison]

I've successfully boycotted T£sco for about 10 years now. Really hate them even more than the rest of the supermarkets (and I don't like any of them)

[Kristen]

I was wondering if there was a correlation between number of eyes/size of seed potato to the size/quantity/quality of the cropped potatoes

Yes, I have read that. Show growers tend to remove eyes to have fewer, stronger, shoots that produce fewer, bigger, spuds. Or something like that!

[Thelma Sanders]

Tesco Desiree are often grown in Kent, but the ones I grow never taste as good as theirs.

That's one of the reasons that I don't grow maincrop any more - in this instance they can do it better

[lottie dolly]

I have used both seed and so called supermarket ones,the only time i would now buy seed,is if i want a particularly variety,why pay more than you need,a dear much older friend once said,he planted all the odd scaby things most peeps thew away,and always had a good crop,

[Snadger]

I have used both seed and so called supermarket ones,the only time i would now buy seed,is if i want a particularly variety,why pay more than you need,a dear much older friend once said,he planted all the odd scaby things most peeps thew away,and always had a good crop,

Thats all my auld Dad ever did! Not saying its the best thing to do, but if you intend planting a large-ish area it can be a costly process buying seed tatties only. I usually grow a mix of seed tatties, tatties I've kept over and shop bought!

[Lumpy]

I would rather keep all the eyes on as although I might get more smaller spuds they are all useful at home as I do not exhibit.

[Kristen]

if you intend planting a large-ish area it can be a costly process buying seed tatties only. I usually grow a mix of seed tatties, tatties I've kept over and shop bought!

I'm going to whisper this so as not to encourage it!!! but I wonder how many crops have actually been lost to, say, virus from supermarket spuds? Maybe none?

I can believe that self-stored spuds might have that issue, weakened generation-on-generation, but supermarket spuds are probably? (I'd love to know if they are) grown from certified seed, so the crop is likely to be "clean enough".

Blight may well take the crop anyway ...

That said, I garden very much on the basis of aiming for minimal failures. If I experiment I do so alongside my normal method - including growing a variety I've not tried before. Winding up with no crop, or a crop of indifferent flavour, is something I regard as a huge disaster ... so as it happens I buy certified seed tubers (and I am also fussy about varieties, so probably would not find what I want in the Supermarket, except perhaps for some Bakers).

There's also a cost-benefit equation to consider. I have no idea what proportion of the eventual crop value the original seed potatoes are, but I suspect someone has kept a record of the weight of seed potatoes planted and the total weight of crop harvested, and the price at that time, to know if cost of the seed potatoes is significant. Supermarket spuds might be a 10th the price of seed tubers, but that might only lower the harvest-value proportion from 2% to 1% and thus be insignificant (obviously not to someone on a tight budget, but for me if there was, say, a 5% chance of crop failure due to importing virus / disease I would not take it, and for the budget conscious crop failure would be an even bigger loss I suspect?)