Bluebell Model Allotment Gardens Association

 

 

Variety Charlotte - Description - Charlotte seed potatoes are the most popular salad potato variety in the UK. Charlotte tubers are long with yellow skins and firm, yellow waxy flesh - making them superb for salads and boiling. These seed potatoes have excellent cooking qualities and are always full of flavour. (Notes - Very good levels of foliage and tuber blight resistance. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).).

 

Variety Caledonian Pearl - Description - Caledonian Pearl is a new, high yielding variety that are hardy and easy to grow. Yellow-skinned tubers that set quickly so that they can be harvested early and a waxy flesh that makes them perfect salad potatoes. (Notes - With a delicious flavour, Caledonian Pearl can also be used for steaming and boiling and is very versatile; it can be grown in smaller outdoor spaces.).

 

 

Variety Lady Christl - Description - Lady Christl seed potatoes produce very early oval tubers, of a medium size with good size yields. Lady Christl tubers are yellow skinned with great tasting, creamy-to-waxy flesh. Boil them, chip them or enjoy them in a salad. (Notes - These seed potatoes show good all-round disease resistance, in particular to common scab and potato cyst nematode (PCN).).

 

Variety Maris Bard - Description - Maris Bard produces high yielding crops of a good even size and, for many years, was the leading first early for maturing the fastest. (Notes - These seed potatoes are oval shaped with white skins, shallow tuber eyes and white flesh. Good resistance against common-scab. Maris Bard are best suited to boiling and early salad use in the kitchen - simply dig, wash, boil and serve.).

 

Variety Pentland Javelin - Description - Pentland Javelin were bred by a young Jack Dunnett back in 1968. For years they have been considered to be one of the finest first earlies that you can grow. Javelin produces heavy crops of short oval white skinned tubers with pure white tasty flesh. A great potato to put into the pan and boil and use for salads. (Notes - Pentland Javelin also has good all-round disease resistance to common scab and blackleg.).

 

Variety Premiere - Description - Premiere seed potatoes are a high yielding first early variety; oval-to-round in shape, with shallow eyes. Introduced in 1979. These are yellow skinned, with yellow flesh and very tasty; bake, boil, chip, roast or enjoy them in a salad. (Notes - Premiere potatoes are popular due to their great all round disease resistance to blight, common-scab, powdery-scab, spraing and potato cyst nematode.).

 

Variety Red Duke of York (Heritage) - Description - Red Duke of York seed potatoes are a heritage potato variety dating back to 1942, said to be found in amongst a crop of white dukes in Holland. These first early seed potatoes produce red skinned tubers with shallow eyes and yellow flesh. Red Dukes are a dry, mealy potato packed with flavour and do not disintegrate on boiling. (Notes - Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM)).

 

Variety Sharpes Express (Heritage) - Description - Sharpes Express are a great tasting spud and good potato to plant for an early harvest (Notes - Sharpes potatoes has good resistance to common scab).

 

Variety Swift - Description - Swift seed potatoes are the earliest of earlies, with crops being harvested in as little as 60 days. A high yielding variety that produces a round-to-oval shaped white tuber with creamy flesh and shallow eyes, this is a real all-rounder in the kitchen. Swift has been bred for early use in the north of Scotland, so you can be assured this is a hardy variety (Notes - Great disease resistance to blackleg, common scab, powdery-scab and eelworm. Swift is an ideal variety to grow in containers for early use.).

 

Variety Winston - Description - Winston seed potatoes, another Jack Dunnett variety, have proved to be both a commercial and an exhibition success all in one. Released in 1992, this white skinned variety has been unstoppable on the showbench circuit winning many titles year after year. Winston produces high yields of smooth, shallow eyed, tubers that are short to oval in shape. Their flesh has a firm texture and a creamy colour, whilst their very low, dry matter would see Winston described as a wet potato. (Notes - These seed potatoes also have excellent all round potato disease resistance. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).).

 

 

Variety Acoustic - Description - Acoustic is a great all-round variety with a strong resistance to blight. A second-early potato that produces high yields of round, pale skinned, creamy fleshed and tasty tubers with a waxy texture; perfect for salads and boiling. (Notes - You can leave them to mature and lift them later in the season where they will become more floury in texture making them great for chips, baking, mashing and roasting.).

 

Variety Estima - Description - Estima seed potatoes are commonly the 'baking potato' of choice sold in most supermarkets, and produce heavy crops of large oval tubers with light yellow skin and flesh. (Notes - Estima potatoes show good resistance to growth cracks and secondary growth, and are one of the most popular seed potato varieties in the UK, great for baking, boiling and mashing.).

 

Variety Kestrel - Description - Kestrel seed potatoes have to be one of the best overall varieties in living memory. Bred by the great man himself, Jack Dunnett, this potato has taken the exhibition scene by storm because of its consistent size and colour. Without doubt one of the best tasting seed potato varieties available. with excellent cooking uses and disease resistance. (Notes - If in any doubt at all, Kestrel are the potatoes that you should always be growing in your garden.).

 

Variety Marfona - Description - Marfona seed potatoes are a high yielding, second early variety, which produces consistent large crops of waxy textured potatoes. Marfona tubers are oval shaped, with light yellow skins and cream coloured flesh. (Notes - A perfect seed potato for baking with whilst also good for boiling and chipping with too.).

 

Variety Maris Peer - Description - Maris Peer seed potatoes produce one of the most magnificent looking haulms ever seen. The flowers on the foliage are even scented which makes them unusual for a seed potato. (Notes - Maris Peer tubers are oval shaped with white skins and a firm, creamy coloured flesh. Disease-wise they have good resistance to all skin diseases. Maris Peer are particularly well suited for second cropping and harvesting at Christmas time).

 

Variety Nadine - Description - Nadine seed potatoes are one of the most successful varieties, introduced around 1987 by famous potato breeder, Jack Dunnett. Nadine tubers are round in shape with a clean, white skin and cream coloured flesh. A high yielding seed potato variety, Nadine produces many tubers at the root and are a popular showbench variety. (Notes - Nadine potatoes tend to be very popular at the supermarkets.).

 

Variety Nicola - Description - Nicola seed potatoes produce a long, oval shaped tuber, with yellow skins and waxy, light yellow flesh - perfect for boiling and salads. (Notes - Disease-wise, Nicola are resistant to potato cyst nematode (PCN), common-scab, potato leaf roll virus, potato virus Y and bruising. Nicola potatoes are also a very popular variety for late planting and harvesting at Christmas time).

 

Variety Sagitta - Description - Sagitta are one of the best tasting potatoes available today. (Notes - Mainly used in the chip shop trade, these tubers provide excellent, fluffy mash and can be boiled well too.).

 

Variety Wilja - Description - Wilja seed potatoes were one of the first Dutch-bred varieties to change the rule book about second earlies. Wilja allowed large consistent crops of light yellow skinned tubers to be produced in a shorter time period. The flesh of Wilja potatoes is yellow and firm, between waxy and floury. (Notes - Bake, boil, chip, mash or roast them.).

 

 

Variety Cara - Description - Cara seed potatoes are still one of the most popular maincrop varieties due to their excellent resistance to blight. Cara tubers are round with white skin and pink eyes. A robust seed potato variety with excellent drought resistance and good all round disease resistance. (Notes - Best suited to baking, boiling, chipping and roasting.).

 

Variety Desiree - Description - Desiree seed potatoes are a popular choice amongst many celebrity chefs including Delia Smith and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, due to their potential to make fantastic roast potatoes. They produce oval, red skinned tubers with pale yellow flesh. They have a firm cooked texture with a medium dry matter. Excellent for roasting, boiling, frying and mashing. (Notes - Desiree is a heavy cropper and early bulking with high resistance to drought and good resistance to potato virus Y and powdery-scab).

 

Variety Kerrs Pink - Description - Kerrs Pink seed potatoes are a very popular variety both here in Scotland and over in Ireland, due to their dry and floury nature. Kerrs Pink tubers are normally short and oval with slightly deep eyes. At their very best eaten when simply boiled in their beautiful, pink skins. (Notes - These seed potatoes have good blight resistance and long-term storage ability.).

 

Variety King Edward - Description - King Edward seed potatoes are probably the most famous potato variety on the market, and for good reason - they have both excellent cooking and taste qualities. Once cooked, King Edward potatoes rarely discolour and offer a broad range of uses. Often copied but never beaten, it's not hard to see why King Edward seed potatoes have been around for a century - a great, solid all-round potato for home growers to enjoy. (Notes - ).

 

Variety Maris Piper - Description - Maris Piper seed potatoes are the undisputed, number one spud of choice for almost all local chip shops. It's the combination of it's excellent cooking and frying qualities that make the Maris Piper potato stand out from the rest, and today it is still grown on a large commercial scale. Maris Piper tubers are oval shaped with white skins and cream coloured flesh. (Notes - They are also a option for long-term storage.).

 

Variety Orla - Description - Orla seed potatoes are a very popular variety for the organic grower due to their high blight resistance. They can be grown as a first early or instead left to mature as an early maincrop. Orla are one of the better tasting potato varieties available, and produce large crops of bold white tubers. (Notes - Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).).

 

Variety Picasso - Description - Picasso seed potatoes produce tubers which are round-to-oval in shape, with smooth white skins and pink eyes. Picasso is now a popular variety for allotment growers due to its high potato disease resistance. (Notes - With Cara as one of its parents, Picasso has a great range of uses in the kitchen. A huge yielder and good storing variety.).

 

Variety Sarpo Mira - Description - Sarpo Mira seed potatoes are the most blight resistant potato variety available in the UK. "When grown by Mr Barbour in his own garden for the first time last year. "They didn't require spraying for blight. The haulms were infected with blight but they have still produced blight free tubers on the 12th of October. Very impressive." (Notes - Sarpo Mira tubers have a dry, floury texture which are best suited to roasting and chipping, they also make a great baking potato.).

 

Variety Setanta - Description - Setanta seed potatoes are one of the most blight resistant potato varieties available in the UK, making them a great variety for the allotment grower. (Notes - Setanta tubers have reasonably smooth, red skins, with yellow flesh, are oval in shape and have shallow eyes. Add excellent scab resistance, combine it with great taste and you've got all the makings of an excellent all-round potato to grow at home.).

 

Variety Valor - Description - Bred by Jack Dunnett, Valor has a high tolerance of heat and drought whilst their flesh is cream coloured and of a floury texture. (Notes - Valor seed potatoes show great levels of blight resistance matched with the ability to produce large crops of bold white tubers.).