Potato Growing 2025

Jazzy,charlotte for me this year, But as i lost some labels from last years saved spuds there will be numerous mystery spuds going in too.

Anyone in South Scotland or North England this potato day may be of interest to you. Very popular, 20p a spud.

Potato Varieties for Potato Day 2025 - Borders Organic Gardeners

 

I looked for potatoes at GC today but quite big packs if I’m only doing a tub.

What’s the ‘return’ on say 4 spuds? Just thinking will I be ‘in pocket’?

Everything has gone up in price - even seeds! They wanted £4 for a packet of micro green seeds, and like @pete and @Spruce have mentioned, only a few seeds in some packets of veg!

 

Just me personally, but spuds are not worth growing if you hope to save money, I'm not growing any this year, just not worth the effort, I can buy them cheaper.

 

I was in B&Q and the plastic bottle of slow release is now over £8.00 I am sure it was £6 last year

 

I grow a few Potatoes, 2 seed potatoes to a 30 litre plastic tub.

Compost, Chicken Pellets, Fish blood and Bone, plus 'Special Potato fertiliser'

We expect about 8 lbs of potatoes per tub.

I planted a few Foremost and Jersey Royals today -- both first earlies.
King Edwards and Sarpo Mira to be planted on 17th March, both main-crop.

 

I was reading that expected yield for first earliest is 7 times the planted weight, main crops closer to 12 times. Have people found that to be accurate? Will of course depend on a variety of factors. I might plant a couple soon in a tub in the gh

 

I have never understood why people use compost, especially bought in for growing spuds in containers unless they don’t have access to their own soil, live in a flat maybe? Once the spuds get going you keep earthing them up so weeds don’t really get a hold before the spud foliage cover the earth. It makes the spuds somewhat expensive using bought in. I, like JWK, use garden soil that has not had spuds growing in it for a while and maybe add the odd dollop of manure or compost. Does the job.

 

Thanks for the info folks.
Well, I have been gifted a small bag (7) of Charlottes! My Sister bought 3 bags for £5 in ‘What!’

So if I use my own compost, and produce more than a saucepan full - that’s fine by me!

 

Any recommendations for a good boiler maincrop? I bought Maris Piper by mistake and am not sure if that will make a good boiler or not as it's mainly a chipper.

 

I often buy maris piper from the supermarket for chipping and I do find they fall apart when boiling, as @JWK says, ok for mash.

I have also bought charlotte for eating as a solid boiled potato.

Best for Boiling

 

Thanks for that.

I was after a variety that holds together when boiling without the skin. Main crop. I thought Charlotte was a second early?

It's interesting that Maris Piper is listed in that link

 

To be honest when I looked at that link myself it just seemed to be a list of widely available seed potatoes and not specifically ones for solid boiled potatoes.

You seem to be able to get Charlotte all winter in the shops, second early, first early or maincrop seems to be more about how long they need to grow and mature to me, rather than anything else.