Seed potatoes now in stock
This year we have some amazing and unique varieties available. They are all of excellent quality and the tubers are certified disease free.
Seed potatoes Variety Information
First earlies:
Plant in tunnel in February and harvest in late May/June
Plant outdoors in mid March and harvest July
Salad Blue PotatoeSpacing: 20cm in drill (drills widely spaced so you can earth up)
Second earlies:
Plant outdoors in late March/mid April and harvest late July to September
Spacing: 30cm in drill (drills widely spaced so you can earth up)
Maincrop:
Plant outdoors in mid April and harvest late September to October
Spacing: 30cm in drill (drills widely spaced so you can earth up)
There are about 10-12 seed potatoes in a kilo.
With a spacing of 1 ft (30cm), you’ll get a 10-12ft (3.5 -4m) long drill per kilo.
With a spacing of 20cm, you’ll get 2.5m long drill per kilo.
International Kidney – also known as Jersey Royal (First Early)
Jersey Royal certainly sounds a lot better than International Kidney, but only potato growers from Jersey can call them with the real name. This potato originated in Jersey around 1880. A local farmer, Hugh de la Haye, spotted one large kidney shaped potato. Apparently it had 15 eyes and he cut out each eye and planted these. This was the beginning of the Jersey Royals.
The EU protects this variety and it was given protection of designation of origin (PDO), just like champagne that can only come from the Champagne region.
Chefs rave about this early potato variety which has an amazing buttery, sweet and distinctive taste. Jersey Royals are at their best boiled with their skins on.
You can grow them like any early potato and plant the seed potatoes around mid March. Potatoes can be harvested from June onwards. If left in the ground a bit longer they can be used as a maincrop potatoes and can be used for roasting, chips or wedges.
“It’d be a waste not to indulge in Jersey Royals as often as you can. Their distinctive sweet and summery flavour turns a mediocre dish into something much more memorable. “
Good Housekeeping
Red Duke of York (First Earlies)
One of the few red-skinned first early varieties. They grow easily and produce a high yield of delicious large tuber suitable for baking and chips. Red Duke of York has been awarded an Award of Gardening Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Red Duke of York potatoes can be planted from mid March/early April and harvest starts in July.
Homeguard (First Earlies)
A first early potato which is very popular in Ireland. It has an excellent flavour and good scab resistance. Blight resistance is low but is usually harvested before blight arrives. A great all-rounder suitable for steaming, boiling, baking, mashing, roasting and frying.
Homeguard potatoes can be planted from mid March/early April and harvest starts in July. Also a great choice for early tunnel production.
Charlotte (second early)
Charlotte is a second early waxy potato which are excellent for boiling without falling apart. The flesh is creamy yellow. They taste delicious hot or cold in a potato salad. They also make delicious roast potatoes. Charlotte grows on all soils and has good overall disease resistance. Blight resistance is average but good resistance to slugs and scab.
Charlotte potatoes can be planted in late March/early April and harvest starts in late July.
Wilja (second early)
Wilja is well known for its taste. It has the old-fashioned real potato flavour. Yield is reasonably good and the potatoes are very uniform in size. It’s a dry potato excellent for boiling, roasting and chips. The potatoes are less prone to disintegrating if boiled too long. It also has good resistance to scab and slugs. Wilja has been awarded an Award of Gardening Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Wilja potatoes can be planted in late March/early April and harvest starts in late July.
Arran Victory (maincrop)
A heritage variety from 1918 bred on the Arran Island on the West Coast of Scotland. It was named “Arran Victory” to celebrate the end of the First World War. We can celebrate its 100th birthday next year. The tubers have deep purple skins and pure white flesh. It’s delicious steamed, roasted or mashed, but falls apart when boiled. The potatoes store well for many months and disease resistance is average, blight resistance is low but once blight hits, the foliage can be cut and removed.
Arran Victory potatoes can be planted in mid April and harvest starts in September/October.
Salad Blue (maincrop)
Salad Blue is a very old variety dating to around 1900. It’s probably the most striking potatoes of all. Both the skin and the flesh have a deep blue/purple colour that remains even after boiling. You can have blue chips, blue potato salad or even a blue mash. After refusing to taste a blue mash I did a blindfold trial with my children- one spoon of blue and one of white mash and every one opted for the blue mash even if they didn’t like it when they could see it. The name Salad Blue may be a bit misleading as I think its best use is for mashed potatoes and not for salad unless you like a stodgy potato salad. Overall this was one of my highlights in 2016.
Salad Blue potatoes can be planted in mid April and harvest starts in September/October.
Sarpo Mira (maincrop)
This is the safe one, the one you’ll be guaranteed a massive yield of potatoes and the one that blight will not touch. There have been many years where all other varieties collapsed with blight and this one stood proud with not a sign of the dreaded disease. Sarpo Mira has very large, irregular shaped pink tubers. The growth is very strong and the foliage quickly covers the soil thus reducing the need for weed control. It was bred in Hungary
Sarpo Mira potatoes can be planted in mid April and harvest starts in September/October.
Golden Wonder (maincrop)
A gourmet potato with many followers. It’s quite a unique potato with its characteristic chestnut creamy brown russet skin. It’s one of the most floury potatoes and thus has a lot of fans in Ireland. The flavour is truly excellent. It’s suitable for boiling, steaming and roasting.
If you like floury potatoes – then Golden Wonder won’t be bettered! It is suitable for most cooking methods including boiling, steaming, roasting, chipping, etc.
Golden Wonder potatoes can be planted in mid April and harvest starts in September/October.
Pink Fir Apple (maincrop)
One of my favourite varieties dating back to the 1850’s It’s also known as a fingerling potato due to the long and narrow, knobbly tubers. The skin is pink and the flesh is white. The flavour is outstanding, a nutty, earthy buttery taste. In fact it tastes like an already buttered potato. It’s ideal for boiling and makes a delicious potato salad.
