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Best potatoes

Jason millyJason milly Posts: 546
in Fruit & veg
Next year I am planning to grow potatoes could anyone advise on a variety , I would be using them for mashing and chips 
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  • BobFlannigonBobFlannigon Posts: 619
    Usually Maris Piper for chips, possibly mash too
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,875
    edited September 2019
    Maris Piper make great mash and roasties 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,534
    But they are so widely available...maybe try something a bit more unique...like a pink fir or something. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,875
    edited September 2019
    I would not use Pink Fir for mashing ... great for roasting crushed with garlic, rosemary, olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt tho 😋 

    This may be of interest

    https://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/potatoes/potato-varieties-for-flavour-boiled-baked-roasted-mashed/



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ColinAColinA Posts: 386
    I have grown Desiree for a few years they are an excellent all round potato and store really well.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,219
    I grew potatoes for the first time this year. Charlotte is a good cropper ( I think)  one GC bag of seed  potatoes 14lb crop, good for boiled and roasted ( haven't tried chips) but not so good for mash, more crushed potatoes. 
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,540
    Charlotte are the most popular on our site but they are a salad variety (waxy not so good for mash).   Picasso main crop are good for baking & mashing, Sarpo Mira are reputed to be ideal for chipping. A good idea is to find a GC (or attend a potato day early in the season) where they sell seed potatoes loose-(fill a bag) you can then try a few of several varieties and see what suits your soil and how they perform for you, take some Kitchen paper with you to separate the layers in your bag and make sure to label carefully so you are sure which is which. 
    AB Still learning

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391
    Absolutely agree with @Allotment Boy - try 2 or 3 varieties at a time to see which suit your soil and taste.  Potato flavour depends a lot on the soil and some varieties may get  damaged by any pests and diseases present at your location while others will come through unscathed.  After the first few years I found Kestrel (2nd early) and Sarpo mira great all-rounders here, with neither being bothered by slugs and the Sarpo being resistent to late blight.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,219
    Just be careful in GC as I bought Charlotte because they said a good all rounder, only to find it didn't mash well, just what I wanted mash, but hubby was pleased as he likes new/ boiled potatoes. 🙄
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,829
    Leave Charlottes to grow big enough and they become more floury but yes, waxy when young and small and grown as first earlies.  Better for mashing, or at least a good crushing, when picked late.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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