Well at last I am now eating the Maris Bard potatoes and they are simply superb, the Rolls Royce of new potatoes. Why my son insists on growing all these inferior, novelty, futile gimmicky excuses for potatoes such as rocket and swift etc. I will never understand. I can not recommend them highly enough (the Maris Bard that is).
Barney
Maris Bard - simply the best!
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Cider Boys
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strawberry tart
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Havent tried my maris bard yet, too busy scoffing pentland javelin and arran pilot,might have to dig a root of the bard tomorrow.the two I mention take some beating. I like these old varieties and they are earlies so they are up before any major problems set in. rgds S.T. p.s.international kidney(jersey royal) were ok, dug some royal kidney tonight but havent tried them yet.
Last edited by strawberry tart on Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Hi Strawberry Tart,
The three varieties you mention are probably as good as you will get. I would be interested to learn if your International Kidney are as good as those produced in Jersey. I stick to Maris Bard and have been having them for the last week and to me there is absolutely nothing to touch them. Incidentally a few years ago I grew Maris Bard then before I could dig them I went and suffered a slipped disc. The net result was that when I finally got to harvesting them was almost October and what a wonderful surprise I had as they had grown into superb very large spuds which boiled, steamed, roasted, fried and mashed and stored well to boot. Some of the flavour had gone as you would imagine but they really are the king of potatoes. I do hope you enjoy them.
The three varieties you mention are probably as good as you will get. I would be interested to learn if your International Kidney are as good as those produced in Jersey. I stick to Maris Bard and have been having them for the last week and to me there is absolutely nothing to touch them. Incidentally a few years ago I grew Maris Bard then before I could dig them I went and suffered a slipped disc. The net result was that when I finally got to harvesting them was almost October and what a wonderful surprise I had as they had grown into superb very large spuds which boiled, steamed, roasted, fried and mashed and stored well to boot. Some of the flavour had gone as you would imagine but they really are the king of potatoes. I do hope you enjoy them.
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strawberry tart
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Hello Johnboy,
To be honest the International Kidney "jersey" royals were lacking that very distinctive flavour and the day I first dug some I also dug arran pilot and the arran pilot were best tasting by far. I'm about to do a similar test with Maris bard and Royal kidney (the sales pitch for the Royals was "said by some to be more flavoursome than the international kidney")
Anyway all served up with fresh peas and fresh mackeral, followed by stawberries, rasberries and gooseberries all in together and covered in cream. I wont be moving much after that lot!
To be honest the International Kidney "jersey" royals were lacking that very distinctive flavour and the day I first dug some I also dug arran pilot and the arran pilot were best tasting by far. I'm about to do a similar test with Maris bard and Royal kidney (the sales pitch for the Royals was "said by some to be more flavoursome than the international kidney")
Anyway all served up with fresh peas and fresh mackeral, followed by stawberries, rasberries and gooseberries all in together and covered in cream. I wont be moving much after that lot!
Last edited by strawberry tart on Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The only varieties we have eaten this year to date are Swift and Anya, and Swift are absolutely tasteless compared to Anya which tastes like a real potato should taste like, both eaten hot, and cold in salads.
Hi Strawberry Tart,
International Kidney are "Jersey Royals" so who was the dishonest company that sold the seed to you?
I think there must be something in the Jersey soil that somehow is lacking in most of the British Islesbecause you hear year after year of the disappointment of the taste of the International Kidney.
Another fine potato is the Red Duke of York another old variety. I find it more flavoursome than Duke of York the white one.
I find that like many different vegetables we get these wonderful new hybrids that will protect against all manner of thing but always somewhere down the line the flavour has gone out the window.
I give as a good example the large Calabrese that you can but in the supermarkets which to me is totally tasteless and would not ever bother to buy with my own home grown Original Italian Green Calabrese of which I can never get enough. I have grown the large hybrid varieties but they are simply awful to me. I always used to try several new varieties of potato every year but still go back to Maris Bard so now with advancing years I only grow Maris Bard and this years experiment growing 25 of them in a 6ft x 6ft x1ft raised bed seems to be paying dividends. I have never grown them as close together before but they seem to thrive on it.
I also have a row of them grown normally and have so far pulled two roots of each and as for yield the raised ones are way ahead. The raised bed is simply all potatoes.
JB.
International Kidney are "Jersey Royals" so who was the dishonest company that sold the seed to you?
I think there must be something in the Jersey soil that somehow is lacking in most of the British Islesbecause you hear year after year of the disappointment of the taste of the International Kidney.
Another fine potato is the Red Duke of York another old variety. I find it more flavoursome than Duke of York the white one.
I find that like many different vegetables we get these wonderful new hybrids that will protect against all manner of thing but always somewhere down the line the flavour has gone out the window.
I give as a good example the large Calabrese that you can but in the supermarkets which to me is totally tasteless and would not ever bother to buy with my own home grown Original Italian Green Calabrese of which I can never get enough. I have grown the large hybrid varieties but they are simply awful to me. I always used to try several new varieties of potato every year but still go back to Maris Bard so now with advancing years I only grow Maris Bard and this years experiment growing 25 of them in a 6ft x 6ft x1ft raised bed seems to be paying dividends. I have never grown them as close together before but they seem to thrive on it.
I also have a row of them grown normally and have so far pulled two roots of each and as for yield the raised ones are way ahead. The raised bed is simply all potatoes.
JB.
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strawberry tart
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Hi Johnboy,
International kidney and Royal kidney are 2 distint varieties, both listed in D.T Browns, Tuckers and on Alan Romans site. Alan Romans comment for Royal kidney is "recent revival of an old classic prduced by Archibald Findlay and deliberatly named so as to compete with International kidney. Good waxy salad/boiling and genuinely early. For part of the 20th century the Royal kidney crop from Majorca and England exceeded that of the "Jersey Royal" (International kidney)."
Anyway after all that neither of these grown by me had that distnct "Jersey Royal" flavour and Arran pilot beat Int. kidney and Maris bard tasted nicer than Royal kidney. but its all in the taste buds of the beholder and all that. Most of my seed potatoes came from a local garden centre, who's owner still sells them loose, so you could have one of over 30 varieties they had on offer if you wished. 7 is a row for me so I buy in 7's or 14's. I had 10 different varieties this year.all the best Strawberry Tart.
p.s. concerning the "Jersey" flavour quite a few people put it down to the land being fertilised with the local seaweed? In fact a friend of mine commented this year "Jerseys dont taste like they used to. Its because theyve stopped putting the seaweed on you know" How much truth there is in that if any I dont Know.
International kidney and Royal kidney are 2 distint varieties, both listed in D.T Browns, Tuckers and on Alan Romans site. Alan Romans comment for Royal kidney is "recent revival of an old classic prduced by Archibald Findlay and deliberatly named so as to compete with International kidney. Good waxy salad/boiling and genuinely early. For part of the 20th century the Royal kidney crop from Majorca and England exceeded that of the "Jersey Royal" (International kidney)."
Anyway after all that neither of these grown by me had that distnct "Jersey Royal" flavour and Arran pilot beat Int. kidney and Maris bard tasted nicer than Royal kidney. but its all in the taste buds of the beholder and all that. Most of my seed potatoes came from a local garden centre, who's owner still sells them loose, so you could have one of over 30 varieties they had on offer if you wished. 7 is a row for me so I buy in 7's or 14's. I had 10 different varieties this year.all the best Strawberry Tart.
p.s. concerning the "Jersey" flavour quite a few people put it down to the land being fertilised with the local seaweed? In fact a friend of mine commented this year "Jerseys dont taste like they used to. Its because theyve stopped putting the seaweed on you know" How much truth there is in that if any I dont Know.
Hi Strawberry Tart,
For God knows how many years International Kidney has been recognized as "Jersey Royal" and it would now seem that they have separated these potatoes out.
I thank you for the information. I must get in touch with my Ex father in law who has spent an entire lifetime growing them in Jersey. I doubt if I will get much sense as he is 105 now!!
JB.
For God knows how many years International Kidney has been recognized as "Jersey Royal" and it would now seem that they have separated these potatoes out.
I thank you for the information. I must get in touch with my Ex father in law who has spent an entire lifetime growing them in Jersey. I doubt if I will get much sense as he is 105 now!!
JB.
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Shallot Man
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Cant say I have heard of MARIS BARD, supplier please. Shallot Man
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Hello Shallot Man
We get ours in bulk from Mole Valley Farmers who are in the West Country, for garden quantities try grovelands or garden4less.
Best wishes
Barney
We get ours in bulk from Mole Valley Farmers who are in the West Country, for garden quantities try grovelands or garden4less.
Best wishes
Barney
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strawberry tart
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Hi Shallot man, all the usual suspects had them listed this year,Tuckers, D.T Brown and Alan Roman to my knowledge. By the way for the first time this year I'm growing shallots from seed, Ambition and an elongated one (bannana?) which I bought at Kew, who's name escapes me, I think it was Italian. anyway sown early this year inside(late Jan.) and looking really strong they were not ready around midsummers day,as my set grown normally are. Have you experience of these and when would you normally hope to harvest them?.S.Tart.