Which Potatoes to Grow. Seed Potato Varieties.

What Potato Varieties to Grow?

How to choose...

The easiest way to select/decide what potato varieites to buy and grow -

is to ask your self ... three questions

How? Where? When?

If you want a quick answer skip to the summary at the bottom of the page.

For more information on selecting the type of seed potato to buy read on...

How do you want to cook your potatoes ?

This question will help you select your variety of potato.

Different varieties of potatoes are good/useful for different types of cooking methods.

To help you choose see information about floury/waxy potaotes and the details of the varieties.

What’s the difference between - Waxy and Floury Potatoes?

 

Waxy potatoes ...

are good at staying firm and keeping their shape and make great salad potatoes.

Floury potatoes ...

are better for dishes where you want fluffy potatoes or for mashing.

Where will you be planting your potatoes?

Location.

Potatoes prefer to be in a sunny well drained site. They grow well in a patch that has had some well -rotted compost or farmyard manure dug in during the winter, they prefer a slightly acid soil with a ph of 5-6. However if you do not have soil that is perfect for them they will still grow. What you must not do is re-plant the same area with potatoes the following year - crop rotation for potatoes is essential to reduce the risk of pests and diseases to the potatoes and the soil.

When selecting your seed potato variety think about..

What is your soil type?

How long can you leave your potato crop in the ground?

i.e.Time from planting to harvest.

 

If you are pushed for space you may need to plant potatoes that go in early (first earlies) and harvest early.

 

First earlies are dug up in time to allow you to plant something else in the ground after they are harvested.

 

Rocket, Swift and a couple of other varieties are able to produce a crop of potatoes faster than some other varieties of first earlies.

 

Do you need a variety that crops heavily in a small space?

Growing Potatoes in Containers. There are varieties of potatoes that are ideal for growing in containers if you do not have land avaible to plant your seed potatoes in.

Do you know of any pest or diseases that you need your seed potatoes to have a resistance to?

• When do you have the land free and ready?

• When can you plant?

• And when do you want to harvest the potatoes?

consider - Do you want new potatoes for the spring when they are expensive

                    to buy in the shops ?

                     Or do you want to store potatoes to use later in the year?

 

This will help you select between:

• First Early Seed Potatoes.

• Second Early Seed Potatoes

• Maincrop Seed Potatoes.

You will find that seed potato suppliers will give you good information about what you can use the different varieties for (cooking) and also what if any diseases they are developed to be resistant to and if they are drought tolerant.

To select What type of seed potato to buy:

 

So here is an  example of the things to consider:

  I live/grow potatoes in an area with sandy soil (it will not retain moisture) which suffers from dry conditions some years and or if I have a problem in the soil then I will look for varieties which are resistant to those problems.

Then factor in to the decision your personal preference for the type of potato that you like to cook/eat and when you want to plant and harvest them.

If you want a nice crop of tasty home grown new potatoes in the spring when they are expensive in the shops you need First Earlies.

If you want to store potatoes to use through the winter months then you will probably need to grow maincrop potatoes.

most people will plant a mixture of fist or second earlies and maincrops...

you can buy seed potatoes in large or small quantities packs as small as five seed potatoes are on sale which helps you try different types of potato until you decide on your favorite types of potato to grow.Some of the suppliers of seed potatoes do a mixed pack with three types in of first earlies, second earlies and main crop.

but remember

never replant potatoes in the same soil that was used to grow potatoes in recent years because of increased risk of disease to them and the land.

how to select which seed potaotes you buy..

 

seed potato suppliers will give you good information on what you can use the different varieties for (cooking) and also what if any diseases they are developed to be resistant to and if they are drought tolerant.

When picking which variety of seed potato to buy ...

Think what, where, how....

 

• What is your soil type?

• What diseases or problems might you need resistance to?

• How will you cook your potatoes.?

• When do you want to plant/harvest them?

• Do you want tasty new potatoes in the spring?

• Do you want to store your potatoes to use later on in the year?

Remember...First Earlies go into the ground from March onwards.

Depending on where you live (in the UK) and the weather conditions at that time.

The soil needs to be at least 7 C / 45 F.

Chitted potatoes are supposed to develop faster than non chitted potatoes...

opinions on this differ.

Names of Potatoes that are First Earlies....

I cannot recommend varieties to you as peoples'prefrences and success with potatoes varies so much. These are just a list and the categories they come under.

Swift.                      First Early seed potato.

The earliest producing a crop in as little as 7 weeks from planting.

Waxy white potatoes with a new potato taste.

Swift has a very short haulm; plant it closer (9-10in) than other early potatoes and keep especially well watered.

 

Rocket.                   A First Early potato.

Pure white flesh, which is waxy and soft.   Lift when mature do not leave it in the soil.

An 'early' first early potato hence its name. Good size crop, uniform round tubers.

Pentland Javelin.    A First Early.

A little later than other First Earlies, it can be left to mature to give a high yield.

Ideal for boiling or in salads, the white, waxy flesh has a creamy texture.

May blacken if left after cooking.
This is the one I find suits my sandy soil and that I like the taste of.

Second early potatoes mature in aprox. 110–120 days.

Plant mid- to late April, they will be ready for harvesting from early to mid-August.

First and second earlies are lower yielding than maincrop and  usually have smaller tubers, so need less space.  Usually they escape some of the diseases, such as blight that maincrops suffer from more.

They are generally eaten as soon as harvested -  as 'new potatoes' -

 while maincrops can be used fresh from the ground or stored for winter use.

Names of some varieties of second early seed potatoes available..

Nadine. British Queen. Ratte. Estima.

Kestral     smooth skinned with good slug resistance. Versatile when cooking. Good resistance to slugs.

 

Lady Christl has long and oval tubers pale yellow skin, firm flesh and shallow eyes, it has good scab and eel worm resistance.

 

Charlotte      long oval potato variety, yellow skinned waxy with creamy yellow flesh. good hot or cold in salads. Easy to grow. Good disease resistance.

 

King Edward.

Maincrop old variety, long oval tubers partially red skinned,

creamy white floury flesh.  not a heavy cropper and not resistant to wart disease.

 

We grew this last year and were not impressed it suffered from several problems but that may have been the dry spell in the spring of the growing season and that they were put into a very neglected and depleted patch of soil.

Maris Piper:

Main Crop Potato.   scores 5 (mid-way point) on the waxy / floury scale.

Pleasant floury texture useful for chips, roast potatoes, boiling, mash and wedges, jacket potaotes..

Maris Piper is one of the best known and popular potato varieties on sale.

It is used by fish and chip shops because it is so reliable.

It has a creamy coloured flesh.

 

A Late Maincrop.

RedCara Red has red skinned, red eyed, cream flesh tubers with all the pest and disease resistances of Cara and large yield potential.

Red Cara has a vigorous plant habit.

 

From my own experience and from reading about growing your own potatoes - I would say if you are not sure if you should plant first early seed potatoes, second earlies or main crops then go for first or second early seed potatoes.

• Main crop potatoes are in the soil for longer so they have a longer time in the soil to develop problems and diseases.
• A first early is also harvested at a time when potatoes are usually still fairly expensive to buy in the shops/supermarkets.
• When you have cleared your first earlies from the vegetable plot you will still have time to plant something/ a fast growing crop in that area of the vegetable plot such as salad leaves.

If you are concerned abut what variety to grow - ask your local seed potato merchant/supplier which variety does well in our local soil conditions. Or ask someone who has been growing potatoes in similar soil conditions to the ones you have in your vegetable plot.

Edgecote purple.             Early maincrop. Long oval yellow flesh tubers.

 

Blue Danube.                    Early maincrop.

The flowers of this potato are bright blue

Moderately blight resistant.    Purple/blue/ skin, oval tubers with bright white flesh, good flavour for general culinary purpose, larger tubers good to bake .

 

Pink Fir Apple

This is a Speciality/Salad Potato variety, an old variety of potato.

This variety is a long knobbly potato, and is red in colour.

Pink fir apple is said to be suitable for: boiling and salads

but I like them roasted whole with the skin on and try cooking them whole as chips.

I have grown these for the past two years but will not plant them in 2010 as I want to try other varieties of potato. Also because they are smallish (especially in my dry sandy soil) they produce lots of smaller potatoes so they are time consuming to harvest, store and cook.

The ideal soli to grow potatoes in is a sandy loam.

When growing potatoes on a clay soil - you may find that it is best to buy seed potatoes that are out of the ground before September. So you need ones that can be harvested early if they are maincrops. Wet boggy conditions are not ideal for potatoes If you suffer from repeated problems it may be better to grow them in a raised bed or container.

After September you may find that the dampness of the soil increase the risk of problems including slug damage.

When possible improve the soil in the autumn by adding humus i.e. compost or well rotted manure.

I have looked for potato varieties that people with clay soils have tried and had success with and the names I found are :

Desiree which has a smooth pinkish skin and pale yellow flesh. .. but it is not recommended for frying. Is said to have a good drought resistance.

Accent or Picasso.

Kestral which is a second early.

Tip : On my allotment site some of the plot holders put comfrey leaves in the bottom of the potato trenches when they plant the seed potatoes.