One potato, two potato, Mr Potato Head

December 16, 2008 4:38 AM

Help me pick a potato.

This year my sister gave me a nice potato barrel for my birthday. And I have a few unused plastic bins that I can repurpose for my first potato-growing experiments.

I have some Maris Piper seed potatoes, and I'm planning on getting some Anya spuds, because they're lovely.

So what other varieties should I consider? I'm looking for something tasty, versatile, and with a reasonable yield.

posted by le morte de bea arthur to home & garden (6 comments total)

Sweet potatoes.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 4:42 AM on December 16, 2008

How about the epicure, which is the traditional Ayshire potato, so you know it will grow well in the UK. Tastes great, too.
posted by Jakey at 4:51 AM on December 16, 2008

We grow Red Pontiacs every year. I harvest them early, so I have tender and sweet new potatoes in mid-late summer.
posted by lobstah at 5:03 AM on December 16, 2008

Sweet potato vines take up a helluva lot of room.

My biggest yields have been from California whites and Lasoda reds. Both are creamy and tasty and prolific.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:45 AM on December 16, 2008

Sorry, robot made out of meat, but sweet potatoes are marginal almost everywhere in the UK - they need a long warm growing season. And they're not potatoes!

I have Jersey Bennes in the garden now. Early variety, and very tasty. Just in time for southern hemisphere New Year.

(When potato varieties are called "early" it means they have a short time to harvest from planting, not that you plant them any earlier in the year).
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:30 AM on December 16, 2008

I loved the Huckleberry potatoes we used to get in out CSA box. They're a beautiful rose pink inside, and have enough starch to make good french fries and mashed potatoes. Really lovely earthy potato flavor. Here's some cultural info and reviews.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:15 AM on December 16, 2008