January 23, 2012
May 15, 2011
First New Potatoes!
This must be a record for our first new potatoes! Luck has been with us and we have had quite warm soil temperatures.
new-potatoes-15-May
With fingers crossed, we planted these Maris Bard on 12th February, very early because Mike was away for the following 3 weeks. The seed potatoes were particularly big, which helped to give us a head start.
Even though the potatoes were covered with polythene we had a scare last week when we had a ground frost early in the morning. Leaping out of bed at first light, we rushed out to sprinkle the potatoes (& strawberries) with water – a trick to keep the frost off.
Other than the frost protection, we have not watered these potatoes at all since they were planted- and we only had 9.5ml rain in March and none in April!
The soil is now very dry, so it is easy to dig the new potatoes out with your hands.
digging-new-potatoes
The soil is full of the potato roots – which have helped the potato plants to grow so well.
roots+new-potatoes
The first new potatoes were quite delicious!
May 4, 2011
Swift Early Potato
Les told me last night that he was going to ‘try’ some of his Swift early potatoes next week. I was impressed!
He said he always grows Swift & has the first boiling in early May! Here are some of the secrets I picked up:
· Swift are the earliest variety, ready within 7 weeks of planting
· Les plants Swift in January
· He grows them in flower buckets
· The buckets are kept in the greenhouse all the time
· Swift only have short tops, so don’t fall over
· Les pulls the plant out of the bucket, picks of the largest potatoes & returns the plant to the bucket to continue growing!
Swift is ‘The earliest early” according to the British Potato Council variety database.
Characteristics of Potato Variety:
· exceptionally early maturing potato variety
· good yields
· attractive, medium sized potatoes
· good skins
· good cooking quality
Click this link to buy Swift new potatoes from Unwins
Swift is a very early potato variety!
March 4, 2011
Early (or new) potato varieties
Early (or new) potato varieties are planted from January to March and are ready for digging from May-July.
Second earlies are planted between February and May and harvested from July to October.
Examples of early potato varieties are:
Ultra-Early Potato – Lady Christl
LadyChrstll-new-potatoes
* high yielding
* numerous uniform attractive tubers
* good all round disease resistance, although it is slightly susceptible to Foliage Blight
* excellent cooking qualities & great flavour
Extra Early Salad Potato – Rocket
rocket-potatoes
* firm, waxy texture tubers
* good for chipping
* responds well under polythene
* best under long day length conditions of Northern Europe
* good yields
* bold white tubers
* a very short growing season
* good drought and heat tolerance
* powdery scab resistance
* masher, chips,bake,roast
First Early Potato – Sharpes Express
* low resistance to dry rot, late blight on foliage and late blight on tubers
First Early Potato – Red Duke of York
* low resistance to late blight on foliage, late blight on tubers, common scab, potato leafroll virus and potato virus Yo .
First Early Potato – Maris Bard
Maris-Bard-new-potatoes
TopVeg favourite!
* high yielding and early bulking
* good resistance to potato virus Y, gangrene, potato leaf roll virus, drought, damage and bruising
* moderately susceptible to spraing, powdery scab
* susceptible to potato cyst nematode
* medium dry matter with good boiling and frying quality
* good all round cooker
Second Early Potato – British Queen
* round tubers
* white skin
Second Early Potato – Charlotte
charlotte potato
* moderate yields
* uniform, smooth skinned tubers
* high resistance to foliage and tuber blight
* susceptible to potato cyst nematode
* medium dry matter
* waxy cooked texture
* salad potato
kestrel-potato-variety
* good yields of very attractive, long oval, coloured tubers
* good all round cooking quality
* good chipping potential, particularly early in the season
Second Early Potato – Edzell Blue
* heritage variety
* very floury texture
* mashes & bakes well, though difficult to boil
* best known blue- skinned variety
Early (or new) potato varieties mature in 8 to 10 weeks, so are the first to be ready for eating.
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May 24, 2010
Lady Christl New Potatoes
The Lady Christl new potatoes are delicious. About the size of a duck egg, one root has been enough for four people.
digging-EarlyChrystal-potat
first-early-potatoes
The plastic tunnel has brought forward the harvest of the Lady Chrstl new potatoes.
February 16, 2010
Vales Emerald Potato Variety
Vales Emerald is a popular, high yielding, first early potato variety which tastes good.
Vales Emerald :
- produces a large number of new potatoes
- matures quickly , making it a very early potato
- is a Maris Peer x Charlotte cross
- has red violet flowers
vales emerald potato seed
Vales Emerald potato tubers are:
- round to oval
- white skinned
- cream fleshed
- shallow eyed
- firm & waxy
- great tasting
Uses of Vales Emerald:
- boil or steam
- serve hot or cold
- ideal salad potato
Click this link to buy some seed of the first early variety of potatoes Vales Emerald
January 24, 2010
Is it necessary to chit potatoes?
It is not necessary to chit potato seed.
chitting-in-egg-box
But chitting does bring an earlier crop because chitting starts the growing process.
- This is particularly important for new or early potatoes, as the growing season is short & every day counts!
- Many people do not chit maincrop poatoes because the potatoes seem to catch up over the long season.
Chitting does act as an insurance. If the planting season is delayed because of bad weather, or family duties, the potatoes have actually started growing so will not be quite so delayed.
Chitting is not necessary, but it does start the shoots growing on the seed potatoes, so chitting is popular with early potato growers.
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January 19, 2010
Charlotte – early potato variety
Charlotte is a variety of potato which may be harvested early in the season.
charlotte potato
Charlotte:
- is a second early – planted between February and May and harvested from July to October
- has moderate yields
- has uniform, pear shaped potatoes
- are smooth, yellow skinned potatoes
- has a high resistance to foliage and tuber blight
- is susceptible to potato cyst nematode
- has medium dry matter
- has yellow flesh
- is waxy when cooked
- is a good salad potato
- may be eaten hot or cold
- is suitable for growing in containers
Click this link to buy the early potato variety Charlotte.
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January 3, 2010
Early Potato Seed FAQ
New gardeners, thinking about growing potato seed,find the associated jargon a bit confusing, so here are some Frequently Asked Questions.
1. What is chitting?
- chitting early potatoes means allowing the potatoes to open their eyes and start to grow the small shoots (from the eyes) which are called chits.
- click this link for more information on how to chit potatoes.
- potato-chit-day20
2. Can we put seed potatoes straight in the soil now?
- wait until the soil warms up.
- the soil & weather conditions in the garden determine when the seed can be planted. These conditions do not usually occur until March.
- your soil is ready when it has dried out so that it does not stick to your hands when you run your fingers through it.
- if the soil is cold and wet, your potatoes are better chitting on the window sill!
3. Will potatoes grow anywhere?
- potatoes can be grown in the vegetable garden, in raised beds, pots or in containers.
- potatoes should not be grown in the same soil year after year. It is best to leave a 7 year gap before growing potatoes in the same soil again.
4. Are there any good types of potatoes that we should look out for?
- different potato varieties cook in different ways and mature at different times.
- early potato varieties are the new potatoes that are usually boiled with mint and served hot with butter or eaten cold.
- early potatoes are the first potatoes to be harvested, usually in early June.
- click this link for a short list of early potato varieties.
Please fill in the comments section below if you have any potato seed questions to add to our list of FAQ.
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December 27, 2009
New Potatoes at Christmas – Who Wants Them?
Who wants new potatoes at Christmas?
Christmas-new-potatoes
In our house it is the gardener – but when the gardener becomes the head of the table, he wants roast potatoes around the turkey and mashed potatoes with his gravy. The subtle flavour of freshly dug new potatoes, cooked with carefully preserved mint, is not appreciated.
This is the first year we have successfully grown new potatoes and harvested them on Christmas day. The seed potato varieties Carlingford and Vivaldi were planted in late July, under a polytunnel, and we have been enjoying them since November.
The polytunnel reduces the risk of frost, but in severe frosty weather the soil would have to be covered (eg with fleece) so that the soil & potatoes do not freeze.
Christmas-dug-potatoes
When we dug the new potatoes on Christmas morning, they had bulked up considerably, and were so big that they had to be cut in half before cooking. This was in spite of a severe attack of potato blight early on. Late sown potatoes are more vulnerable to blight at a very early stage, because as soon as they come out, and the first leaves emerge, they are likely to be in a blight period.
So, because the new potatoes are quite large we will probably plant some in August next year. But a few will be planted in July, just in case blight catches the August lot.
Click the link to buy some Carlingford or Vivaldi seed potatoes to grow new potatoes for Christmas.
The challenge of extending the potato season and harvesting new potatoes at Christmas is still there, but who really wants them with a traditional Christmas dinner?
