Sarpo Mira

[Geoff]

I'm growing these for the first time this year. What enormous top growth they make. My question for those who have grown them before is how many weeks do you grow them for? Or do you look for a change in the growth? Mine were planted week 14 (April 5th) and it is now week 33. The bag from JBA just has general instructions "Maincrop 15-22 weeks". I've also seen them described as late maincrop, does that suggest 14+22=36 or September 6th? I haven't had a poke around.

[Spare Chair]

I'll watch this thread with interest. I'm growing them for the first time also and have read somewhere that they tend to keep on growing if you let them but in the process the tubers become big, rock hard making them difficult to cook and tasteless. It recommended cutting the tops off at 22 weeks max.
Agree about the mass of top growth but sampled some at 18 weeks and although still on the small side the yield was promising and the taste very good, made superb roasties.

[Monika]

We have planted Sarpo Mira for many years,, probably since they first became available, this year on 1 May. They are growing strongly and just starting to flower. We usually take the foliage off when it begins to go yellow and harvest about a week or ten days later.

As for them growing too large and becoming hard, we have not found that in the past, though the potatoes, on average, tend to be larger than, say, Kestrel or Sante. We use the large ones as baking potatoes or or just have one tuber for a pot of mash!

[Beryl]

I agree with Monika, mine have finished flowering and the foliage is now falling over and going yellow so I am starting to harvest now. And no I've not found them hard at all. I have some good sized tubers this year but I think the crop will be down because of the lack of water; for me anyway.
But I am not complaining.

Beryl.

[Geoff]

I didn't like the look of some of the foliage so I dug them yesterday at 21 weeks. I bought a 2½ Kg pack that had 24 good tubers in it (plus one rotten) and planted them in a 25' row, perhaps a bit close for maincrop. The yield was 43½ kg. I might have expected a few more as a similar row of Charlotte gave me 42½ kg, perhaps I should have left them a little longer. Haven't tasted any yet.