Sarpo blight resistant potato collection
potato - early maincrop or maincrop
Years of research at the Sárvári Research Trust (SRT), which is a not-for-profit company based at Bangor university in North Wales, has produced a these potatoes, which show high levels of blight resistance.
How to care for Sarpo blight resistant potato collection:
As soon as your seed potatoes arrive, unpack them and if you've time, start chitting by placing them in a single layer in a light, cool, frost-free spot. Begin this around six weeks before planting. While not essential, chitting will help get your potatoes off to a good start, and subsequently they'll produce an earlier harvest. There’s also no need to chit autumn or Christmas potatoes, as these are planted in summer.
First early and second early seed potatoes can be planted outdoors under fleece protection, while maincrops should wait until the risk of frost has eased, usually from mid-April. Autumn and Christmas potatoes are planted straight into trenches or potato bags from late July.
Dig a trench 8-13cm (3-5in) deep and add a balanced fertiliser before planting the tubers 30cm (12in) apart with the shoots facing upwards (if present), then cover lightly with soil. If using potato bags, plant into general-purpose compost with at least 20cm (8in) beneath the tubers.
When shoots reach about 20cm (8in) tall, earth up soil or compost around the stems to cover the lower two-thirds of the plant. Keep plants well watered as this boosts yield and helps prevent scab.
Planting and harvest times depend on the type:
First earlies: Plant mid-March to April and lift 10-12 weeks later (June to early July).
Second earlies: Plant early to mid-April and lift after 13-14 weeks (mid-July to August).
Maincrop: Plant from mid-April and harvest after 15-20 weeks (late August to October).
Autumn/Christmas: Plant from late July and lift from 12 weeks, protecting plants from frost.
First early and second early seed potatoes can be planted outdoors under fleece protection, while maincrops should wait until the risk of frost has eased, usually from mid-April. Autumn and Christmas potatoes are planted straight into trenches or potato bags from late July.
Dig a trench 8-13cm (3-5in) deep and add a balanced fertiliser before planting the tubers 30cm (12in) apart with the shoots facing upwards (if present), then cover lightly with soil. If using potato bags, plant into general-purpose compost with at least 20cm (8in) beneath the tubers.
When shoots reach about 20cm (8in) tall, earth up soil or compost around the stems to cover the lower two-thirds of the plant. Keep plants well watered as this boosts yield and helps prevent scab.
Planting and harvest times depend on the type:
First earlies: Plant mid-March to April and lift 10-12 weeks later (June to early July).
Second earlies: Plant early to mid-April and lift after 13-14 weeks (mid-July to August).
Maincrop: Plant from mid-April and harvest after 15-20 weeks (late August to October).
Autumn/Christmas: Plant from late July and lift from 12 weeks, protecting plants from frost.
What's included:
This collection contains 30 blight resistant potatoes bred by Sarpo, 10 each of the following:
‘Sarpo Mira’: A high yielding, red-skinned late maincrop variety (pronounced Sharpo), it produces a good amount of weed-smothering foliage, but it is the potatoes natural resistance to blight that makes it stand out from the crowd. It's a good all rounder in the kitchen and has a floury texture that is great for baking, roasting and making chips. It also has good crop yields and stores well so the good harvest potential will mean you do not have to eat them all at once.
‘Blue Danube’: Purple-black stems and a dark shiny foliage and spectacular blue-skinned tubers of good shape and skin finish. It is an early maincrop with medium foliage-blight resistance and good tuber-blight resistance. It also has good resistance to a number viruses. The flesh is bright white and of medium dry matter content. Growers experimenting with this variety always want more - and many claim it as their favourite roast potato!
‘Sarpo Una’: The first 'second early' in the Sarpo range, this disease-resistant variety can be harvested and used as a waxy salad potato from mid-June onwards. Otherewise, leave it in the ground and it will go on to produce a heavy crop of larger potatoes, which are excellent for baking. Ideal for smaller gardens, this versatile potato can be grown in pots or bags, and when harvested, it has a pure white flesh with a subtle flavour.
Eventual height:
0.6m
Eventual spread:
0.45m
Position:
Full sun / light shade
Rate of growth:
Fast-growing
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil, or peat-free general purpose compost
Hardiness:
Frost tender
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Humans/Pets: Seed potatoes and plants - Harmful if eaten
30 × tubers
£11.98
£0.40 each
available to order from winter
Unavailable
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