It’s that time of year again!! We publish our planned stock of certified seed potatoes every autumn so you can plan ahead for the following year – as of November 2021 we have 49 varieties listed! A few varieties should arrive in December 2021 and the rest should arrive in early January 2022. Prices from £2.60/2kg.
Come into the shop to pick up a printed copy of the list, or you can DOWNLOAD A COPY HERE. Once again, some varieties are in short supply this year. You’ll see on our list that, for the moment at least, Lady Christl is missing – we still haven’t been able to source any, but we’ll keep trying and keep you updated. Arran Pilot is another favourite in VERY short supply this year – we’ve managed to secure just a fraction of our usual order.
UPDATE: December 2021 – We’ve been informed by our supplier that, regrettably, there is no stock of ANYA and ROOSTER available for the horticultural sector. Rooster may become available in February, but this is not guaranteed. We have added CALEDONIAN ROSE to our list, which is another all-purpose, red-skinned, yellow-fleshed variety with a good flavour and texture, plus good scab, blackleg and eelworm resistance.
UPDATE: 19th January 2022 – MOST OF OUR COLLECTION IS NOW IN STOCK AND ON SALE IN THE SHOP! We are expecting Ratte, Belle de Fontenay and Organic Colleen later this week sometime in the week beginning 24th January. Unfortunately, at the last minute we have been informed that International Kidney will not be available this year, so we’ll be removing it from our list.
UPDATE: 27th January 2022 – Organic Collen, Ratte & Belle de Fontenay are now in stock and on sale in the shop.
As always, if you’re looking for specific varieties, to avoid disappointment, we suggest you call ahead to check what we have in stock. Or, place your seed potato order and pay in advance. We’ll call you when they arrive and have them ready for you to collect.
Look out for varieties marked (AGM) on the list – these have been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit. This means they are reliable performers and particularly garden-worthy.
The RHS has a very useful guide to help you get started if it’s your first time growing potatoes. Garden Focused also has very detailed information and helpful planting date calendars which you can adjust according to where you live. Ask other allotment-holders if you’ve just taken on an allotment, to find out if any varieties do particularly well on your site (or if there are any common potato problems to be aware of). Then choose your varieties accordingly. For anyone keen to grow heirloom varieties which have stood the test of time and form a part of potato history see below, where you’ll find dates of introduction ranging from 1850 to 1976.
For dry areas and sandy soils, cultivars with drought tolerance should be chosen: ‘Cara’, ‘Desiree’, ‘Estima’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Marfona’, ‘Maris Piper’, ‘Picasso’, ‘Rooster’, ‘Sarpo Mira’, ‘Stemster’, ‘Ulster Prince’, ‘Valor’ & ‘Winston’.
Slug-resistant cultivars: ‘Charlotte’, ‘Estima’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Stemster’ and ‘Wilja’.
Scab-resistant cultivars: ‘Accord’, Arran Pilot’, ‘Wilja’, ‘Charlotte’, ‘Dunluce’, ‘King Edward’, ‘Maris Peer’, ‘Nadine’, ‘Nicola’, ‘Pentland Crown’, ‘Pentland Javelin’, ‘Setanta’, ‘Ulster Prince’, ‘Ulster Sceptre’, ‘Colleen’, ‘Caledonian Rose’ & ‘Vivaldi’.
Blight-resistant cultivars: ‘Carolus’, ‘Orla’, ‘Sarpo Mira’, ‘Setanta’, ‘Nicola’, ‘Cara’, ‘Ulster Sceptre’, ‘Colleen’ & ‘Valor’.
Cultivars particularly good for growing in containers or potato bags: ‘Casablanca’, ‘Belle de Fontenay’, ‘Maris Bard’, (‘Lady Christl’), ‘Jazzy’, ‘Charlotte’, ‘Ratte’ & ‘Vivaldi’. Read about the RHS potatoes in bags trials here.
Heritage Varieties and dates of introduction: ‘Arran Pilot’ (1930), ‘Belle de Fontenay’ (1885), ‘Duke of York’ (1891), ‘Dunluce’ (1976), ‘Epicure’ (1897), ‘Foremost’ (1954), ‘International Kidney’ (1879), ‘King Edward’ (1902), ‘Majestic’ (1911), ‘Maris Piper’ (1966), ‘Pentland Javelin’ (1968), ‘Pink Fir Apple’ (1850), ‘Ratte’ (1872), ‘Red Duke of York’ (1942), ‘Ulster Prince’ (1947), ‘Ulster Sceptre’ (1964).
View or download a copy of our 2022 SEED POTATO LIST HERE.
