I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Spuds first (though I don't expect to plant them until March).

I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most other
ways.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

: I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best
: Cambridgeshire fen soil and am keen to stock it with suitable
: varieties of vegetables.
:
: Spuds first (though I don't expect to plant them until March).
:
: I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most
: other ways.
:
: Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

It's down to personal choice really and what suits your soil best. Some
potatoes do well for me but not for someone else on another field, so you
should try some different kinds. I hardly grow any maincrop these days
because they usually succumb to blight (because they stay in longer and
blight usually comes along later in the season). Where you are, you may not
suffer from blight so much as I believe you are in a dryer area. The ones I
grow are Pentland Javelin and Maris Bard and I set these up for chitting in
a light and cool (frost free) room yesterday. My favourite of all, I think
is the maincrop, King Edward but it is a slug hotel and I have found nothing
to keep the lodgers out lol . Good growing


Robert South West England

Brian Watson wrote:

I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Spuds first (though I don't expect to plant them until March).

I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most other
ways.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
Salad- Juliette.
Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good one
though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment. Ask your neighbours about
slugs, you might be able to grow some good varieties that we can't grow in
wetter western areas.
--
Rod
http://website.lineone.net/%7Erodcraddock/index.html
My email address needs weeding.

Rod25/1/04 6:46
erlin.de

Brian Watson wrote:
snip
I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most other
ways.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?



Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
Salad- Juliette.
Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good one
though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment. Ask your neighbours about
slugs, you might be able to grow some good varieties that we can't grow in
wetter western areas.

Dunbar are the tastiest potatoes, IMO but seem horribly prone to mildew,
from what I'm told. But to me, they are nonpareil for flavour. Of course
their problems are why you never see them now, I suppose. ;-(

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

The message
from "Brian Watson" contains these words:

I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Spuds first (though I don't expect to plant them until March).

I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most other
ways.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

*IF* you can run some down, (and I have only seen them on the Isle of
Lewis) there's a variety which people think is called Zulu Queen. They
call it bontata dubh - black potato.

The skin is such a dark purple it appears black. If you cut it, the
flesh is distinctly cream, but with a dark purple ring inside the flesh,
often with purple rays reaching to the centre.

Cooked, it has a marvellous flavour, and holds together - which is just
as well, because the purple turns grey as it is cooked and looks
revolting when mashed......

Cold, in salads etc it is out of this world, and it likes growing in
peat. Acid peat, anyway.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades writes:

The message
from "Brian Watson" contains these words:

Spuds first (though I don't expect to plant them until March).

*IF* you can run some down, (and I have only seen them on the Isle of
Lewis) there's a variety which people think is called Zulu Queen. They
call it bontata dubh - black potato.

The skin is such a dark purple it appears black. If you cut it, the
flesh is distinctly cream, but with a dark purple ring inside the flesh,
often with purple rays reaching to the centre.

Cooked, it has a marvellous flavour, and holds together - which is just
as well, because the purple turns grey as it is cooked and looks
revolting when mashed......

I picked up soemthing similar from the allotments society stand at
Strawberry Fair in Cambridge. Always use the red cabbage technique
when cooking them and put a bit of vinegar in the water which helps
keep the red bit of the colour. They are a bugger to dig though, the
dark colour makes them exactly the same colour as damp soil.

Anthony

"Rod" wrote in message
...
Brian Watson wrote:

I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire
fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
Salad- Juliette.
Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good
one
though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment.

Oh, it's big enough!!

Half an allotment here seems to be what some city dwellers would call a
small field!

Thanks (all) for the suggestions.

--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

"Rod" wrote in message
...
Brian Watson wrote:

I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire
fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
Salad- Juliette.
Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good
one
though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment.

Oh, it's big enough!!

Half an allotment here seems to be what some city dwellers would call a
small field!

Thanks (all) for the suggestions.

--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

"Rod" wrote in message
...
Brian Watson wrote:

I have just acquired a 50% share in an allotment of best Cambridgeshire
fen
soil and am keen to stock it with suitable varieties of vegetables.

Any recommendations as to what I should put in?

Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
Salad- Juliette.
Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good
one
though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment.

Oh, it's big enough!!

Half an allotment here seems to be what some city dwellers would call a
small field!

Thanks (all) for the suggestions.

--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 19:46:04 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

~Rod25/1/04 6:46
$n -b
~erlin.de
~
~ Brian Watson wrote:
~snip
~ I don't make chips, but my girlfriend and I like potatoes eaten most other
~ ways.
~
~ Any recommendations as to what I should put in?
~
~
~
~ Maincrop - Picasso, Cara, Maxine.
~ Salad- Juliette.
~ Early - Rocket, Swift, Lady Cristl, Dunluce - Arran Pilot is still a good one
~ though not such a heavy cropper as some more recent ones.
~ More sugestions when you get a bigger allotment. Ask your neighbours about
~ slugs, you might be able to grow some good varieties that we can't grow in
~ wetter western areas.
~
~Dunbar are the tastiest potatoes, IMO but seem horribly prone to mildew,
~from what I'm told. But to me, they are nonpareil for flavour. Of course
~their problems are why you never see them now, I suppose. ;-(

For anyone undecided as to what spud, and who is near Coventry, this
weekend is the HDRA potato weekend. Saturday is for members but Sunday
is for anyone.

Apparently they have some quite rare varieties for sale.


--
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!