Kitchen Garden Forum

I've grown Anya for years after seeing them in Sainsburys in one of those plastic pots at an extortionate price. They looked like PFA so I tried them and they were just as nutty tasting as PFA and not as knobbly. However this year I have grown PFA as I couldn't get hold of Anya. They're just nice to grow as a different taste and they come late when that new potato taste is beginning to go from the other types of potato. I was very late this year and had some real failures after all that rain and cold in May/June. The seed rotted in the ground. However since then everything caught up in the heat and Leicestershire had rain through the summer when we needed it. I have a garden full of different types of potato and each one slightly different - which is what you don't get from shop bought ones.

Hi Juliet and all

My PFK have been excellent this year - great as earlies and now bulking up as a tasty maincrop. Charlotte excellent as usual and Maris Bard good as earlies and also last week as huge chippers. BUT the best new variety was Juliette!

Chris

Hmm.. what kind of potato is Juliette? Is it a salad type? Another one for next years wish list..at this rate I will need a bigger allotment.

Hi all,
You`ll need a larger plot if you put "Lady Balfour" in,- had a huge return (again),from this potato,and excellent chipper.
Also had a huge return (1st time),from "Diseree"- which is also an excellent chipper.

Regards,
Mark.

KMARKSnr, you like your chips then.
Glad you have had some goog crops.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

Juliet

I think Juliette was described as a secong early salad potato. I heard it recommended on Gardener's Question time one Sunday in March and then turned up at a garden centre to find a sample pack on sale. Too much of a co-incidence to resist even though I had already bought plenty of seed potatoes. The family want them again. My problem is how to buy small quantities of several seed potatoes when the plot size is limitted. We used to have an old fashioned garden shop on Elgin High street where you could do this - sadly they have been transformed into another shoe shop. The really crazy thing is that a lot of the seed is grown within a few miles of where I live in Moray and then sent to England for packaging before being driven back here to the big stores.

Anyway do try Juliette next year.

Thanks Chris - I will look out for them next year.

I have the same problem wanting to try a small number of serveral varieties. There is a near by gargen centre where I can buy as few or many as I want but they only stock a limited range. The catalogues do have selection packs of smaller quantities but they choose the selection. I want pick n' mix!

Juliet

I've grown Anya this year. I put them in around the end of May and they flowered about the end of July. The foliage never looked that great and died off straight away so I thought that was that Finally got round to investigating the crop a couple of weeks ago and was well chuffed. Smallish tubers but loads of them

They are easier to clean than PFA. Taste is good - not PFA but pretty fine. I've been roasting them in their skins like Deb P or boiling them for warm potato salad with olive oil, parsley and garlic.

Also grew Kestral after several forum members said they would be good for my clay soil allotment - excellent crop from them as well. Did try the wood ash in the base of the trench trick and very little slug damage so thanks all who offered advice

Sue

Chris. If you can get yourself to Aberdeen and go to the Parkhill Nursery near Dyce next year you will find a fantastic range of potatoes for sale. They do the regular pot's in the big nets but they do lots of trial packs of a half a dozen or so of every type available, very nice people to deal with.Thats where I got my Nobbly Sods from.
Arthur

Hi

I got a T&M catalogue yesterday. The so called 'Connoisseurs' salad collection contains a pack of 10 tubers of the following: Harlequin (Chatlotte/PFA cross - interesting), Juliette (I know this is good), Anya (see postings above), Roseval, Mimi, and Vales Emerald at a cost of £13.49.

Is this in any way good value?
Do you have any exprience of the last 3?
Could this be some pots in a poke?

Arthur - thanks for the information. No problem getting to Dyce and Parkhill - have copied this for a trip next year.

Chris



I

Curiosity got the better of me yesterday and I dug up 2 of my late planted PFA. I found a total of 11 potatos, the biggest was almost as big as my thumb- and my thumb isnt very big! In fact I picked raspberrys that were bigger than my potatos. I think I will have to leave well alone for a bit longer

Juliet

Juliet,

Have you still got leaves on the PFA? If NOT then they won't grow any bigger If yes then you could wait until the leaves die back as this often helps to fill out the potatoes. My Anyas (planted 6-6-06) died back a few weeks ago and have loads of tubers about finger length and fatter than my thumbs (I have fat thumbs!).

Hi v.v.

yes they are still leafy - so a small chance they might fatten up a bit or it will be slim pickings.

Juliet