Buckingham Garden Centre

FIRST EARLY SEED POTATO AVAILABILITY 2021

Variety

Description

Arran Pilot

An oval white skinned variety. Flesh is white and of waxy texture. Resistant to drought. Good in all soil conditions including light soils. A popular and successful variety in this area. Slug resistant.

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Casablanca

A new white skinned first early. It has clean smooth white tubers with shallow eyes and its cooking quality will make it popular with chefs with its ability to chip, bake or boil. A good choice for those who grow in small gardens with planters as Casablanca is ideal for this use.

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Dunluce

Bred in 1976 by the same breeder as the Ulster range of potatoes. Good early yields of round, white-skinned and fleshed tubers, with superb, sweet flavour, which do not disintegrate on boiling/steaming.

Ideal as a new potato, for summer chips, or baking.

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Epicure

Traditional variety. Moderate yield of round potatoes with white flesh with an excellent, distinctive flavour which are good boiled, mashed or in salads. Potatoes do not discolour or lose their shape after cooking. Does well in cold exposed positions. Slug resistant.

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Home Guard

Moderate yield of uniform oval white skinned potatoes. Flesh is creamy white and of waxy texture with a good flavour. Does well in heavy soils.

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International Kidney

A selection of International Kidney was chosen in Victorian times is still grown on Jersey and marketed under the trademark 'Jersey Royal'. Kidney shaped potato with pale-yellow skin and pale-yellow flesh which is waxy when young. Excellent boiled or as a salad potato. Famous for its flavour. Can also be grown as an early main crop.

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Lady Christl

Produces lots of very early, firm, oval, smooth, pale yellow-skinned tubers. Creamy flesh remains firm on cooking. Bulks up quickly as a first early, or can be left as a second early. Good resistance to diseases and pests including golden eelworm. Easy to grow and the quickest to produce 'baby new potatoes'. Superb in containers if garden space is limited – ideal for a sunny balcony, or even a backyard for town dwellers.

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Marfona

These are generally best if you want to grow small, new potatoes. Plant up from the end of February to late May. First early potatoes are ready to harvest approximately 10 weeks from planting date. Ideal for growing in bags or containers and will benefit from 'chitting' prior to being planted.

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Maris Bard

An oval white-skinned variety. Produces a large yield of moderately large potatoes. Flesh is white and of waxy texture, with a good flavour. Very early.

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Pentland Javelin

Produces heavy crops of short oval potatoes with white waxy flesh. Cooks well - especially good for boiling and for salads. Normally used small as new potatoes, but also good when mature. Keeps well for an early. Slug resistant.

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Red Duke of York

Moderate yield of oval, red potatoes with a light yellow flesh, which is waxy when young. Good for boiling, and can be used as a salad potato. Superb flavour.

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Rocket

Very early variety. Very high yield of even sized round white potatoes. White flesh with firm waxy texture. Superb flavour and good cooking qualities, especially when boiled. Low haulm (stem) reduces wind damage. Does well under cloches. Slug resistant.

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Swift

Extremely early variety, even earlier than Rocket. They crop in 8-10 weeks. Plant only 9ins (23cm) apart. Excellent for cloche and pot growing. Moderate yield of round white potatoes, with cream flesh. Good all round cooking qualities. Very good salad potato. Slug resistant.

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Winston

Bred in 1992, Winston is a popular potato because of its heavy cropping and large bold tubers of even size. It has a firm texture and a creamy flesh. It scrapes well when used early and bakes well upon maturity. Eelworm resistant and often takes first place on the show bench.

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SECOND EARLY SEED POTATO AVAILABILITY 2020

Variety

Description

Anya

A cross between Desiree and Pink Fir Apple which shares qualities of both parents. Anya has Pink Fir's fine nutty taste yet is 8 weeks earlier and the long tubers do not have the awkward branches that make preparation and storage difficult. Highly recommended. Skin colour: yellow. Flesh colour: white. Uses: boil, steam and chip.

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Apache

Red skin patterned with cream coloured patches. Small and round with a smooth texture. Super scrubbed and roasted whole - they have a sweet, buttery, almost chestnut like flavour. To keep the skins looking bright, blanche before roasting.

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Charlotte

A long oval salad potato. Yellow skin and yellow waxy flesh. Excellent flavour and cooking qualities, especially good as baby potatoes.

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Elfe

Elfe potatoes have a smooth oval shape, creamy skin and bright yellow flesh. They have a creamy texture and delicious sweet, buttery taste. It's very versatile for a range of meals.

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Estima

Very high yield of oval potatoes with pale yellow flesh which is firm, waxy, moist and free from after cooking blackening. One of the earliest varieties to mature sufficiently for baking. Slug resistant.

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Gemson

Excellent early salad potato which yields lots of round oval pale-yellow tubers with a firm texture. Good disease resistance and ideal for growing in grow bags.

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Jazzy

The small waxy tubers are much more versatile than other salad potatoes and literally bursting with flavour - whether you boil, mash, roast or steam them.

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Kestrel

High yield of long oval blue-eyed potatoes. Flesh is cream with a semi-waxy floury texture with an old fashioned flavour. Good all round cooker and an excellent chipper. Highly slug resistant.

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Maris Peer

High yield of medium to large, short oval potatoes, with creamy white flesh with a soft, dry, flowery texture. Good all round cooker, boiled, mashed or baked, but not recommended as a salad potato. Rarely discolours after cooking. Has largely replaced Majestic commercially.

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Nadine

Very high yield of uniform round potatoes with white skin and pale cream flesh, with firm, moist, waxy texture and no after cooking blackening. Good all purpose potato. Slug resistant.

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Nicola

Long, oval, smooth skinned tubers with a wonderful waxy texture. Superb flavour when boiled and used as a salad potato. Golden eelworm resistant.

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Osprey

Good disease resistant variety, with smooth white skin and shallow pink-splashed eyes. High yields of large, oval, firm, waxy tubers suitable for boiling, baking, roasting and chipping.

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Ratte

Potato 'Ratte' produces long, smooth skinned tubers with white skins and yellow, waxy flesh which does not disintegrate during cooking. Delicious steamed in their skins and eaten hot or cold.

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Saxon

High yield of long oval potatoes. Flesh is cream and of waxy texture. Outstanding flavour and good all round cooker. Good disease resistance. Stores well.

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Vivaldi

This is very tasty, mouthwatering and creamy whether boiled, baked, mashed or roasted. Really versatile as also excellent for high yields of baby potatoes, and larger tubers as a Second Early/Early Maincrop. Oval, yellow-skinned with pale yellow flesh. Good common scab resistance.

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Wilja

Tried and tested boiling/general purpose potato. The British gardener's favourite second early. High yields of large tubers. Very firm with no discolouration.

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MAIN CROP SEED POTATO AVAILABILITY 2020

Variety

Description

Belle de Fontenay

Old French variety. Very early with firm dark-yellow waxy flesh and yellow skins. Good yield of medium sized long oval tubers. Exceptional cooking qualities.

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Cara

A round pink-eyed very high yielding variety. Produces large attractive tubers. Flesh is cream and of firm waxy texture. Excellent boiled or baked. Good show variety. Slug resistant.

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Desiree

A long oval red variety. Very high yield of medium to large shallow-eyed potatoes. May be irregular in shape especially in heavy or wet conditions. Flesh pale yellow and waxy. Good all round cooking qualities. Rather prone to scab, but this does not badly affect eating and cooking. Good drought and slug resistance.

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Golden Wonder

Russet skinned. One of the best varieties for roasting and frying. This potato has a deep rich flavour which improves on storage. A good cropper. Slug resistant.

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Innovator

The Innovator, like the name implies, is a young variety that replaced and improved some previous types with better characteristics. The Innovator is also not very susceptible to potato diseases, meaning it is both tasty and reliable.

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Isle of Jura

This fine early main crop crops well and has excellent all round disease resistance. Large creamy-fleshed tubers with excellent flavour. Uses - boil, steam, mash, chip, sauté, bake or roast.

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Kerr's Pink

These are a traditional tasty main crop potato with dense weed suppressing foliage. They are a good general purpose floury potato. Microwaves, mashes, bakes and fries well. Boiling needs care. They produce round, pink tubers with medium deep eyes.

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King Edward

High yield of medium sized oval potatoes with creamy white slightly flowery flesh. Well known good quality potato which is a good all round cooker and rarely discolours after cooking. Responds well to good conditions.

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Majestic

High yield of medium to large oval potatoes with creamy-white soft waxy flesh. Good all round cooker. Keeps well into late spring. Reliable cropper which succeeds in a wide variety of conditions. A popular and successful variety in this area.

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Maris Piper

High yield of medium to large, short oval potatoes, with creamy-white flesh with a soft, dry, flowery texture. Good all round cooker, boiled, mashed or baked, but not recommended as a salad potato. Rarely discolours after cooking. Has largely replaced Majestic commercially.

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Maxine

High yield of round potatoes with red skin, white waxy flesh, and superb flavour. Good boiled, mashed, roasted or baked. Slug resistant.

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Pentland Crown

Pentland Crown produces large numbers of bold white tubers that have a floury texture of flesh. They are moist and floury once they have been cooked and are a great all-round potato variety. If you want to grow large tasty potatoes then this is the variety for you.

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Picasso

Oval potatoes with white skins, red eyes, cream coloured flesh and mild flavour. Good for boiling, baking and chipping. A possible alternative to Pentland Crown. It is also extremely high yielding, but the potatoes have better cooking qualities and keep well. Generally trouble free.

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Pink Fir Apple

Excellent salad potatoes with firm waxy pale-yellow flesh, which are also good boiled. They should be boiled in their skins which are then easily removed. They retain a superb 'new potato' flavour well into the new year and rarely discolour after cooking. This very old variety is low yielding, and matures late in the season.

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Record

Oval yellow-skinned tubers with light yellow flesh. Record is a popular choice for crisping and frying due to their high dry matter. They retain their yellow coloured flesh after boiling and can be quite dry and mealy. Record has good all round disease resistance and great kitchen use.

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Rooster

This fine early main crop crops well and has excellent all round disease resistance. Large creamy-fleshed tubers with excellent flavour. Uses - boil, steam, mash, chip, sauté, bake or roast.

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Sarpo Mira

High yields of tasty, floury, red-skinned tubers. Grows well in many soil types. Vigorous, weed suppressing foliage. Long storage. Very high blight resistance and moderate resistance to slugs.

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Setanta

This superb potato has a reputation for being drought tolerant and free of pests and diseases, making it an ideal choice for the organic home gardener. Being one of the most blight resistant potato varieties available in the UK makes them a great variety for the allotment grower. Packed with flavour, use Setanta for boiling, baking, roasting, chipping or mashing.

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Valor

Very high yield of round to oval potatoes with creamy white waxy flesh. Good for chips and excellent for baked potatoes. Slug resistant.

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