I dragged myself away from cleaning the greenhouse yesterday and made my way to our local garden centre to buy seed potatoes and a few other things including onion sets. We’ve usually done this by now but if you’re a regular reader of our blog you’ll know we’ve been a tad busy lately with a house move. I decided to try a different main crop potato this season, a variety called Sante caught my eye. I almost changed my mind, tempted to grab a bag of faithful Desiree but I stayed strong, eventually swayed by the excellent disease and pest resistance that Sante offers. Anyway, it’s good to try something new.
Just out of curiosity, what do you do with the ‘tiddlers’? You know, the tiny seed potatoes often found at the bottom of the bag (unless you’re buying your seed potatoes loose and hand choose large seed). I have some old car tyres to stack and fill with compost just for our tiddlers, or I use large tubs. Of course there’s nothing wrong with planting them the usual way in the ground, I just like to use the smaller ones for container planting.
I’ve set the seed potatoes out to chit in large egg trays, our light and cool conservatory is perfect for this. Tomorrow I will be sowing tomatoes and chillies, the start of the new growing season is so exciting!
The Garden Smallholder 
Desiree are the only main crop ones that I grow as they are generally not affected by slugs. I buy my seed potatoes at the horticultural society trading shed so I’m able to get the quantity and size I want at a good price. xx
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My first set of deed potatoes went all mushy so wasn’t happy at all. Managed to save about five! So needless to say I now need to buy more. I’m a big Desiree fan too but willing to try new varieties. I shall have a look for Sante on my travels.
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I do like good old Desiree but like Sophie I’m willing to give other varieties a go.
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Just ordered my seed potatoes for 2013 and many varietals are already sold out, despite the fact that we usually can’t plant anything here until late May or early June. I ended up going with Russet Burbank, Ruby Gold and All Red – all new to my vegetable patch. For the first time, I ordered them online rather than buying a box at the local hardware store or gardening centre. Now I need to get Mr. GeoK busy constructing the potato condos where I’d like to grow this year’s crop! I skipped growing potatoes last year because they take up so much space, but potato condos use a much smaller footprint so I should be able to squeeze them in along one edge of the backyard.
It’s so interesting to read about your fantastic new yard, especially the disused greenhouse. Good luck starting your 2013 crops in your new space!
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I admit to never having heard of a potato condo before, now I’ve looked into them they’re an amazing way of saving space, almost like an upright raised bed. Thanks for teaching me something new today GeoKs! Best of luck for your growing year, your potato varieties sound very interesting.
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I plant my ‘tiddlers’ out with the bigger spuds, but they tend to be the last into the ground… poor little fellas.
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No potatoes for me this year, not enough room. Having a conservatory is a wonderful thing for any gardener, particularly if it is what I call a scruffy conservatory rather than one of those full of posh wicker furniture. So much scope for seed sowing and plant coddling! Enjoy kicking off the new gardening year in your new home.
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I’ve just taken delivery of my seed potatoes, and like to ring the changes, like you choosing for for disease resistance as blight is a problem here. The only variety I have grown each year is Red King Edward which crops and stores well. Tiddlers are interspersed with bigger potatoes in my beds, but I rarely get very small ones from the wholesaler I buy from.
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No furniture at all in ours Janet, we didn’t have a conservatory before so it’s perfect for seeds!
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We haven’t tried Red King Edward, another one to add to our list.
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It’s all very very exciting. This is almost the most exciting time (pre actually planting out), given my experiences last season in what many of my fellow plot holders were calling the worst year in memory! I still love it though : ) I’m growing Red Scarlett as 1st earlies and Victoria as main crop.
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Hi Matty, yes last year was pretty trying to say the least! Still, we’re all full of gusto for the new growing season so fingers crossed it’s better.
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A couple of years ago, I found an aged baking potato in my veg basket, I didn’t have anything to lose so put it in the ground with the others, that one baker gave us a plant of the most enormous baking potatoes. I love Pink Fir for salads and have also planted
Pentland Javelin and good old Desiree.
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We are growing Pentland Javelin and Desiree this year, the small ones I just tend to put two in a hole (not any logic to it) in order to make the number of potatoes fit into full rows :-)
Good luck with the growing this year.
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The growing season sure is exciting! I always grow rockets and have never tried anything else. My parents have grown them for years and I just love the taste.
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My Desiree 1st earlies have chitted 1 inch long, I have put them in their potato bags with more compost than usual, because of the chilly weather and they are snug in a warm shed, until the snow disappears.
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another thing that should have been done this weekend, have Bonnie to try as I thought they sounded different and reminded me of the lovely little jack russell name sake we lost a few years ago! Again with pots would rather try something “different”. Although a few years ago on the allotment decided to chit my own Roosters and they worked far better than the regular seed potatoes that my allotment pal bought – I know they say not to chit your own because of disease etc but heyho.
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