I want to retain some Jersey Royal potatoes to grow at home for a DIY
crop of new potatoes around this time next year. The Jersey Royals
were bought today from a shop in the UK.

Should I aim to store them in the dark for 10 months before planting
them c. Feb 05? I fear they won't keep well for that long.

Or should I plant them around July time and use the next crop
(autumn/winter 04?) as my seeds potatoes for a further crop in
April/May 05?

Does anyone know the Jersey farmers' source of seed potatoes for the
new Jersey Royals which are in the shops now? Are they stored for
almost a year?

Regards
George

George Bray29/4/04 3:38

I want to retain some Jersey Royal potatoes to grow at home for a DIY
crop of new potatoes around this time next year. The Jersey Royals
were bought today from a shop in the UK.

Should I aim to store them in the dark for 10 months before planting
them c. Feb 05? I fear they won't keep well for that long.

Or should I plant them around July time and use the next crop
(autumn/winter 04?) as my seeds potatoes for a further crop in
April/May 05?

Does anyone know the Jersey farmers' source of seed potatoes for the
new Jersey Royals which are in the shops now? Are they stored for
almost a year?

To the best of my knowledge (I'm a Jersey woman now living in UK) when they
lift the potatoes for export which is now, some are kept back, stored and
chitted, then planted next January or February, depending on weather. The
ones we're eating now will have been grown under polythene, is my guess.
I don't know the technical details so I've forwarded your query to a Jersey
farmer friend of mine and will see what he comes up with. He was mostly
dairy but grew a few spuds, too.
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
snip
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true
Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

In fact they don't seem to be able to grow a true Jersey Royal anywhere
inside Jersey since they stopped carting seaweed to the fields and started
using commercial fertilizers....
Sorry, but in recent years I've been bitterly disappointed in the fall-off
in taste.

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 17:44:08 +0100, "Sue da Nimm"
. wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
snip
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true
Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

In fact they don't seem to be able to grow a true Jersey Royal anywhere
inside Jersey since they stopped carting seaweed to the fields and started
using commercial fertilizers....
Sorry, but in recent years I've been bitterly disappointed in the fall-off
in taste.

Isn't that caused by old age and not the thing you are eating?

Sue da Nimm29/4/04 5:44


"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
snip
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true
Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

In fact they don't seem to be able to grow a true Jersey Royal anywhere
inside Jersey since they stopped carting seaweed to the fields and started
using commercial fertilizers....
Sorry, but in recent years I've been bitterly disappointed in the fall-off
in taste.


You and me and a few Jersey people would agree, I can tell you. BUT, I must
say that the other day I bought some Royals from our greengrocer in
Ashburton and they were the real thing - had the flavour I remember as a
child. They still had the soil on them BUT the washed ones I bought from
M&S a day or two later were bland, bland, bland!
I don't know what the state of play is now in Jersey but at one time it had
one of the highest levels of nitrates on the land within Europe. I hope
that's dropped because I am convinced, personally, that it makes an enormous
difference to taste, let alone health.
I have friends in Jersey who grow for their own table only and use seaweed
and the difference in taste is marked. But the Ashburton ones I bought the
other day were superb.
The problem, as with so many older varieties of veg and fruit is that
overseas sources, which fly in everything from potatoes to strawberries to
roses, mean that the market is so wide open that comparatively small and
later cropping co-operatives can't compete. So they resorted to
'encouragement' of the soil and its crop - mistake, IMO but I'm not a
farmer trying to keep family and land going.
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 17:49:35 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

The problem, as with so many older varieties of veg and fruit is that
overseas sources, which fly in everything from potatoes to strawberries to
roses, mean that the market is so wide open that comparatively small and
later cropping co-operatives can't compete.

How do they manage to produce potatoes so early in Jersey. In Naxos,
Greece the first potatoes are lifted at the beginning of June.

"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
snip
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true
Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

In fact they don't seem to be able to grow a true Jersey Royal anywhere
inside Jersey since they stopped carting seaweed to the fields and started
using commercial fertilizers....
Sorry, but in recent years I've been bitterly disappointed in the fall-off
in taste.


Oh! Please don't say that! I've ordered some on-line direct from the
growers. We've been longing to taste them again after living for nearly
seven years in France. Let's hope it isn't a big let-down. We've paid over
£6.00 for two kilos which includes the postage.

Regards
Iris McCanna

How do they manage to produce potatoes so early in Jersey. In Naxos,
Greece the first potatoes are lifted at the beginning of June.

The Gulf Stream?

Sam

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 19:20:48 +0100, "Sam" wrote:


How do they manage to produce potatoes so early in Jersey. In Naxos,
Greece the first potatoes are lifted at the beginning of June.

The Gulf Stream?

The Mediterranean sea around Naxos is warmer all the year around than
the gulf stream's maximum temp around the C.I.s

Please could I ask where you got them from? I seem to have this urge to
really go for the grow at the moment and now want to add some Jerseys to my
list.

And please can someone tell me what a chit is exactly? I've been studying
the info section of the website closely and it just tells me to chit my
potatoes!

Vicky the ignoramus


"Barry & Iris McCanna" wrote in message
...

"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
snip
Of course, the Jersey people will tell you that you can't grow a true
Jersey
Royal anywhere outside Jersey. ;-)

In fact they don't seem to be able to grow a true Jersey Royal anywhere
inside Jersey since they stopped carting seaweed to the fields and
started
using commercial fertilizers....
Sorry, but in recent years I've been bitterly disappointed in the
fall-off
in taste.


Oh! Please don't say that! I've ordered some on-line direct from the
growers. We've been longing to taste them again after living for nearly
seven years in France. Let's hope it isn't a big let-down. We've paid
over
£6.00 for two kilos which includes the postage.

Regards
Iris McCanna

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 19:30:33 +0100, "Vicky"
wrote:

Please could I ask where you got them from? I seem to have this urge to
really go for the grow at the moment and now want to add some Jerseys to my
list.

And please can someone tell me what a chit is exactly?

'chit' seed potatoes before planting. This means placing them in a
clean box or tray - old egg trays are ideal - and keeping them in a
cool (8-10°C), light place, where they will produce strong sturdy
shoots to give an earlier crop. Tubers can stay safely in their trays
until planting conditions are right.
HDRA website

I've been studying
the info section of the website closely and it just tells me to chit my
potatoes!

Vicky the ignoramus

and is chit pronounced like ch in chips or ...

Sorry to be such a spud bore but how long can they be planted out for during
the year to ensure and ongoing supply?

Vicky

'chit' seed potatoes before planting. This means placing them in a
clean box or tray - old egg trays are ideal - and keeping them in a
cool (8-10°C), light place, where they will produce strong sturdy
shoots to give an earlier crop. Tubers can stay safely in their trays
until planting conditions are right.

The Mediterranean sea around Naxos is warmer all the year around than
the gulf stream's maximum temp around the C.I.s

Interestingly they seem not too disimilar for mean temps particularly in May
according to these sites

http://www.koufonisi.com/en/weather.shtml

and

http://www.jerseymet.gov.je/

Rainfall is noteably higher in Jersey during April/May which would be a
distinct advantage when growing spuds.

Sam

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:25:49 +0100, "Sam" wrote:



The Mediterranean sea around Naxos is warmer all the year around than
the gulf stream's maximum temp around the C.I.s

Interestingly they seem not too disimilar for mean temps particularly in May
according to these sites

http://www.koufonisi.com/en/weather.shtml

and

http://www.jerseymet.gov.je/

Rainfall is noteably higher in Jersey during April/May which would be a
distinct advantage when growing spuds.

Where did you find the sea temperatures for both?

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/cgi-b...G=en&WIND=g025

The sea temperature was 11 DegC for C.I. and 17 DegC at Naxos today.

"martin" wrote in message
...


The sea temperature was 11 DegC for C.I. and 17 DegC at Naxos today.

Oh, sea potatoes!, yes i guess they would come on a bit quicker in the Med
:-)

Sam