Just letting you know I have already got some seed potatoes and they are on a cool but bright window sill nicely chitting away:
1st earlies: Early Onwards & Pentland Javeline (never tried either so will be an experience) Some of both of these will be going on the new plot - as I have only just dug it over from overgrown grassland, there is the risk of eelworm and wireworm in the soil, so I'm hoping that being 1st earlies, they might just get away with bug damage
Salad potatoes: Charlotte (my favourite ) and Nicole (never tried it)
I'd like to get some Kestrel (2nd earlies) as I really liked those I grew last year.
I'm still deliberating on what variety maincrop. Folk on the allotment site seem to go for Cara which is supposed to be a hardier version of the King Edward, so should I be persuaded by experience and go with the flow or be bold and try something different?
As for onion sets:
Sturon - a reliable onion that I have had grown before.
Red Baron - a red onion variety which is new to me.
Garlic:
Can't remember what its called (began with an F...) but we are going to give it another go. Last year only about 3 out of 21 cloves grew and even then, they were pathetic. I began to wonder if I had planted them upside down Packet said to plant the cloves in early spring. I'm almost tempted to plant them now in pots and leave in the greenhouse (frost free of course) The garlic I had planted late autumn are doing ok so far .

it all sounds rather delicious!!!!
Last year we planted Christabelle, and they didnt do too well. I prefer to plant 1st or 2nd earlies, so that I can then use the space once they're dug up!

that sounds interesting - but we have completely different potato varities here! i didnt realise there were so many types of potato until recently.....
the only ones you mention that ive even heard of are king edwards....
although you mention nicole and we do have one called nicola i dont know if the same or not.
the area of Aus im now in is big potato growing territory and you see them for sale by the road in season. i wondered what the heck the signs saying 'pink eyes $2' were all about at first - sounded like someone was going to give you a disease or punch you in the eye for $2 to me!
we've also got pontiac, kennebec, desiree, dutch creams (i thought that was a nice chocolate or something!), bintje, kipfler , lots of others whose name escapes me now!

OOo Tassie, how very interesting!! I suppose its only sensible that certain potatoes do well over there, and some do well over here - but I hadnt thought of that!!
I do recognise the name Desiree, we get those.

Hi, I might try some spuds this year, but all those fancy names are baffling. When I buy seeds I go by the picture on the packet, my tomatoes are big ones and little ones, my beans are runner or dwarf. Maybe I'll pick it up as I go along.
Ilona

Some greengrocers sell spuds the same way - white ones and red ones!
Do you notice a different taste if you buy different types?
I certainly do (though to complicate things, the taste changes after they've been in store for months).
With spuds there's Earlies (grow quickly), Second Earlies, and Maincrop (grow slower but big crops). It will say on the bag which is which.

The varieties I like are Sharpes Express (second early), and King Edward (maincrop).
Both are a 'floury' and they (esp. Sharpes) tend to fall to bits if you boil them, so best to steam them. I'm not keen on the 'waxy' types.
Both of them were nearly banned by Europe because they were not very resistant to some pest, but we won the campaign to keep them.

I only do second earlies. I could do more but it means digging up more garden.
Has anyone tried growing them in buckets?
I've done this with good results and the main benefit is that you don't put your fork or spade through them when digging up.

When you go to buy seed potatoes, there's usually a short description of its qualities and what you could use the potatoe for - boiling, roasting, salads etc. When it comes to maincrop, I do try to aim for an all-rounder because I'll probably have so many (fingers crossed this year!:-D ) in storage.
As for which ones to choose, it all comes down to trying them out and developing your own preferences. I might have mentioned that I love Charlotte (salad crop), the Kestrel I grew last year (a 2nd early) were lovely baked and mashed (with a dab of butter). Unfortunately I also got blight last year (with all the rain, many people had the same problem) so my maincrop of Desiree, Golden Wonder (yes, apparently they make good chips!) and Epicure got dug up much earlier and most had not produced much of a crop. 1st and 2nd earlies are normally already harvested before blight manifests itself but they don't tend to store as well.
After you dig up your first and second earlies, you can always use those beds to grow on leeks or brocolli for overwintering (sow them as instructed, grow them up in pots or tray and then plant them out when the bed becomes available, usually June/July)
There is a potatoe website which also lists which potatoes are resistant to certain pests and diseases such as wireworm, eelworm and blight (within reason! Golden Wonder was supposed to be but it still took a nose dive because it really was a very bad year last year) When I find it, I'll put a post in.

Richard wrote:
Has anyone tried growing them in buckets?

Before I took the allotment on, I used to grow mine in big containers in the garden/on the patio. Sometimes I would even slide my hand into the compost and harvest some of the spuds as new potatoes while the plant was still growing
I haven't tried it myself, but some people even use thick plastic bags (like old compost bags)

I tried growing in bags in the greenhouse with International Kidney (the Jersey Royal) but they ended up as all top and no tuber. They didn't enjoy it being too warm at all.
Best results for an early early was in a plastic raised bed with a fitted coldframe. They were kept frost free and easily topped up with compost as the haulm (foliage) developed.
When the risk of frost was past, the frame was left open. Nice heavy crop, very clean and very early.
Incidentally, champion potato growers never grow in soil. They grow in bags of compost. Most often a peat with added fertilizer.

Here we go:
http://varieties.potato.org.uk/varietyi ... ?page_no=1
and I also found www.britishpotatoes.co.uk interesting as well.

lancashire lass wrote: Before I took the allotment on, I used to grow mine in big containers in the garden/on the patio. Sometimes I would even slide my hand into the compost and harvest some of the spuds as new potatoes while the plant was still growing

I do that when they are growing in the ground if they are too small to lift.
Our ground is very sandy, which makes them prone to scab. I heard a tip that putting grass cuttings in prevents this, so they get buried in a thick layer, with a bit of soil on top, and earthed up with soil and grass mix.
This also means that you can find a layer of rotted grass when digging, so know where the bottom is, and the potatoes lift out clean.
One year at playgroup we tried them in containers, but by the end of term (late July), they were all top, and just one or two pea sized tubers/child to take home.
How did you do it Richard, I like the idea of tipping them out and not spiking. How deep were they planted, did you top up after sprouting to earth up, or fill up in one go?

Richard wrote: I only do second earlies. I could do more but it means digging up more garden.
Has anyone tried growing them in buckets?
I've done this with good results and the main benefit is that you don't put your fork or spade through them when digging up.

richard
what did you plant them in, garden soil or compost ?
ime trying this way this year, i was thinking of using compost and well rotted horse manure, do you think this will be ok
many thanks littlefeat

Thanks for all that info on spuds, I bought some Maris Piper from the market. They were £2.50 per kilo, so to try them I got just under at £1.80, I had to carry them in my rucksack. They are now in the sun on the window sill. I will go back and get some of a different kind. I am going to try them in plastic sacks, buckets and raised beds, and see which produce best results, 'suck it and see'
Ilona