Tatties 2017

I haven't grown Potatoes in years and even then it was only on a very small scale. I have reduced the amount of herbaceous plants I'm growing and thought I'd grow some Potatoes next season in the spare space. The only Potato I remember growing before and liking very much was Firs Pinks (spelling could be wrong). They were very nobbly but nice flavour and great cold.
We are very lucky and have a specialist seed Potato grower quite close to here. (Bridgend Nursery). They grow about 130 diffrerent varieties so should have some great varieties.
Being a virtual beginner with spuds any tips would be much appreciated. Hope they like horse manure as the beds have a lot on them. Will spuds grow reasonably well in medium shade? part of the area is quite shaded and would be good if Potatoes will grow in less than full sun. With our climate (been pretty kind winter here so far.....so far being the operative word) we normally don't have huge issues with lack of water but do get late frosts which I presume are the death nell for Potatoes being sort of similar in requirements to Dahlias. If there is a good link for me to read that would be great and save someone having to write out reams of instructions to a novice like me. Thanks in advance.

 

They came up on a search for a specific variety of seed potatoes, so glad I didn't assume I'd be able to collect them on my next trip over the Severn Bridge

 

Oh you are a @JWK . Many thanks. Better high tail it down to Brigdend Nursery soon then. I was presuming I didn't need to get going until about April . Sorry @Scrungee, not exactly on your doorstep and would ruin your amazing money saving exploits by driving up here to buy some seed Potatoes from them.
With god knows how many varieties to choose from, any recommendations for a beginner? I like cold spuds and ones that are quite waxy. Also how about storage? I have outbuildings which are frost free except if it's very cold, how do you lot store them during the winter?

 

Got some more seed spuds this morning from Seed Potatoes They've not got everything in yet but had the Kondor, Bonnie and Amour that I wanted, and I'm happier going and getting varieties that can't be obtained locally rather than fret about whether they'll be left on my doorstep in icy weather if ordered online.

The other couple of varieties I'm after will be obtained from Buckingham Nurseries Ltd Search Results when they have their potato day on 4th Feb and I'll pick the brains of the NVS experts who really know their stuff, I've found them an absolute wealth of knowledge and help, especially with growing veg for competition (whilst our village experts take their knowledge to the grave rather than potentially helping somebody who might then do better than them).

I'd also like to visit here Dundry Nurseries - 270 varieties of seed potatoes in our database for their Potato Weekend on 21st & 22nd January, especially as small quantities can be purchased, even single tubers @ 20p each. As that weekend has absolute rubbish neap tides in the Bristol Channel, I just need to find another excuse to be passing that way

 

For example, I used to grow Desiree, but finding them going for 0.75p/Kg rather hacks me off after buying seed spuds, cultivating, fertilizing, planting, earthing up, covering against frost, watering, discouraging rabbits from burrowing amongst them, spraying against blight, sorting out Red Ants nests (and even wasp's nests) amongst plants, then - if you've got everything right - harvesting a load of wet, muddy, scabby, slug eaten spuds that will need somewhere frost free to store, and even then all the local mice will be after them.

 

Felt somewhat the same re the effort when I saw Cauliflowers being sold for 20p, Carrots 10p a kg and Parsnips likewise after Christmas. My freezer is full of home grown veg (produced with a fair amount of my blood sweat and tears) therefore didn't even have the room to buy any of the cheap veg on offer. No doubt the unsold veg went to landfill......criminal IMO.
My less than perfect home grown produce might not look too attractive but does taste vastly better and hasn't been sprayed with god knows what, however, I do sometimes question if the effort is worth it when vegetables are sold at such cheap prices.

 

5Kg of spuds for 59p in Aldi Aldi everyday essentials 5Kg Potatoes 59p Was £2.24 allthough not as cheap as 2.5 Kg for 19p a few weeks ago.

Assuming seed spuds cost approx. £1.50/Kg, if you harvested 15x the weight planted they'd cost 10p/Kg, the same as they currently cost at Aldi.

 

Like to eat king Edward

 

As with most grow your own stuff you need to grow a variety which you like, which is not obtainable in most out lets.
If you can buy it in the supermarket, or even farm shop for that matter, I really can't see the point of growing it yourself.

 

Depends on how much they are charging ... vs how much your time (and water bill) is worth

 

Living in seed potato county, our local garden centre has over 160 varieties instant avail and can order within three days anything obscure,
One thing I know, is you have to BUY SEED, do not waste time on saved seed from last year, or cheap ready now for eating supermarket spuds,
Saved seed and supermarket eating potatoes always end up either scabby or slugged
Initially I thought it was a way the seed providers were trying to make a buck, though I now know from experience they are correct (trials)
The best seed is large hens egg size, and you can get quite a few of those at £1.45 a Kg, I have had it shown to me, and tried it myself, (The local allotmenteers here are genuine and pass on ALL Knowledge for free even the massive Leek competition growers) :-)

I have no interest in massive Leeks, I would rather have three Soup ones, but I have tried and almost matched our CHAMPION, Our Champion has been growing king size leeks for many years and his ground is about six feet deep in Mares Best now, :-)

 

If you add it up I very much doubt you will beat a supermarket for price alone.