Salad Blue Potatoes

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've just lifted some Salad Blue potatoes today. They are a second early, and not a salad potato, but they are an amazing colour.

I roasted a couple in their jackets for tea and they are gorgeous. They have deep purple skin and startlingly navy-blue flesh. I did them with some Lancashire cheese, steamed mangetout peas, Australian Yellowleaf lettuce and a large sliced tomato. It looked gorgeous and tasted delicious. They are slightly sweet so the tangy cheese complemented them very well.

They are supposed to make blue mash, so I'll have to try that next. I wasn't sure whether they were just a novelty for the colour, but they are a good flavour too.

I grew them from a micro propagated plant last year, so this is the first crop I've had to eat. The plants are very vigorous with attractive blue flowers, and the five little tubers I put in have yielded a good bucket full of potatoes. I would probably have got a heavier crop if I had waited for the tops to die down, but curiosity got the better of me.

I'm waiting for the Highland Burgundy Reds to flower now so I can try making some red crisps.

[Colin Miles]

Yes - I think they are also more a second early although the books say early main. I grew mine from micro-plants 3 seasons ago. Around 3lb from the 1st plant, but last year disapppointing because of blight. But 15 tiny saved tubers planted early in pots in the greenhouse have given me nearly 14lb of wonderful potatoes - almost finished now. They really do look pretty and I am convinced they must be very healthy. I also bought the 20 conservation grade and they are growing extremely vigorously outside.

I found Highland Burgundy Red even tastier but a very poor cropper - if you do Google you will find this seems to be normal - so I have given up on it. But interested to see how you get on.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Colin, I've not cropped the Highland Burgundy Red yet, they are just forming their flowers. Out of the five micro-plants they were the least productive. I only got six very small potatoes to plant this year, but they have all grown and the plants have chunky but lax stems. I'll let you know what they crop like.

The Salad Blue were extremely vigorous plants with very tall upright stems and lovely flowers.

[pump_king]

Have you tried the Shetland Blacks? I have to admit that I was not impressed with the Salad Blue, very poor crop. I too have not dug the Highland Reds yet so cant comment on them yet.

[Colin Miles]

My first Highland Burgundy Red from microplant produced just under 1/2lb compared with between 2 and 3lbs for the others - Salad Blue, Aura and Witchhill. Next year 2 tubers of Highland Burgundy Red only managed just over 1/2lb. It does seem to produce just a single stem, so maybe the answer is to either layer it or keep topping it up with earth.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Yes, I've had two crops from the Shetland Blacks now and they are quite productive, but not very large tubers. They are quite floury, but tasty.

I've noticed that the Highland Burgundy Red don't seem to have much foliage or extra stems, but I've grown them in deep tubs (the large ones they grow trees in), so I'm hoping for a few more than last year as I've kept topping it up with compost as they've grown.

Talking about micro plants, either Aura or Orion developed blight last year, which I've never had in the garden. None of the others were affected, but I disposed of them and the soil as soon as I noticed it. Fortunately they were in a tub and there's no sign of any this year.

I thought the micro plants were completely cleaned of viruses, diseases, etc. so was disappointed to say the least for that to happen. I'm pretty sure it was blight as the tubers were affected too.