On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 22:11:51 GMT, jakalad wrote:
~ I learned a few new tips at the potato day today too. If you .....
~ I'll need to hunt out my notebook for the others... but I've never
~ seen so many folk scrabbling for spuds in my life! It was a scrum!
~ (And I now have 67 tubers of 11(!) varieties laid out to chit...
~ wooops. Though only 7 were impulse buys...)
~
~Hi Jane Thank you and the others for the info on 'floury' spuds.
~Interested to know what 'potatoe' day you attended. Was it the HDRAS'.
Yes - I'm a member so went on the Saturday. By 9am the queue was
across the front of the building and by opening at 9.30 the car park
was full and the queue all the way back to the fence by the road! Glad
we got there really early!!
~Sounds kind of intereting and useful. I presume you would recommend.
yes - they also have a program of talks which have two basic ones -
how to grow organically and pests/diseases. The others change each
year, so this year we got two cookery demos (very good, and in true
Blue Peter tradition there were dishes they prepared earlier which we
got to try!) a report-back on the Sarpo blight resistant maincrop
potatoes and a Q&A session with several folk including Alan Romans.
ok I realise this is veering a bit OT as I'm now talking floury
maincrop potatoes!
The Sarpo report was fascinating. I grew two of each of the three
kinds, and got foxcubbed so had no idea which was which (the cubs dug
up or bit off the labels). Others without such little terrors managed
to compare flavour, growth and blight resistance between the three as
well as between them and normal cultivars. They really are much more
resistant to both tuber and foliage blight. The flavours were the
downside because they are very floury and apparently people these days
tend to favour waxy. some 50-60% of triallers said they'd grow them
again. I know I would (and am) - with them being so floury ie high dry
matter, they roast superbly!
The other comment on taste was more a psychological point - people
were able to choose the variety they used as control, so invariably
the Sarpos came last on taste/texture, since most people used their
favourite for their control! They did score highly on both yield and
tuber number (8-9 tubers per plant, 5-6.5kg per five plants). It was
noted that thanks to distribution hiccups, most were planted very late
in the season (early May) so probably didn't get to full potential.
I am growing more Sarpo Mira this year. Though not too cheap at 20p a
tuber, if I get the lowest quoted yield that works out at a pound for
5kg, or about 9p/lb which isn't bad.
Some folk thought they were a bit sluggy. I personally found that they
were very slug and scab resistant. And I didn't dig till November and
my fellow allotmenteer is still digging hers having left them in the
ground overwinter! And they are fine. And yes, we did get blight on
the lotties.
~Just bought some Duke of Yorks and Fir Apples so I will see how they go
~this year. Looking for the Belle de Fontenay but thewy seem to be scarce.
~May try Ratte instead. May need another allotment just for spuds at this
~rate! Jak
I know the feeling... but you can pack earlies in quite densely, it's
the maincrops like Ratte which eat space.
I love Ratte - as it's waxy and holds its shape in boiling, even after
a few months in store. Potato salads at Christmas... mmm!
Drat I've found a note on container growing which I should have
mentioned in a reply to another thread... oops better go do that.
--
jane
Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain
Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!
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