Potato Quality

[Ukjay]

Hi

Just interested in finding out some info really, as we seem to be finding the quality of edible potatoes extremely poor locally, and we do not want to revert to buying supermarket supplied..

Therefore, why would local farm shops supply 'Spalding Lincolnshire Potatoes' vs local produce in terms of potatoes in Monmouthshire - are they not able to secure locally grown produce that is better quality so have to ship in shite from Spalding?

Edit, not sure this is the right area, but thought Id ask.

 

[MikeNeaverson]

Heavier/silt land potatoes generally store better than sandy land, which is why many of us in fens specialise in supplying late in the season (I haven’t even started out loading my store yet).

Potato quality is generally good this year though so I’d direct the question to your farm shop because getting hold of good quality is neither difficult or expensive at the moment.

 

[Will 1594]

Can you find any valor , good decent alrounder , Cara cross ,the wife informs me , her old man grows them ,

 

[Sonoftheheir]

What varieties are they selling from Lincolnshire?

 

[br jones]

Farmer up by us grows wilger ,top spuds

 

[Ukjay]

Right, the latest variants are:

Green and Sprouty 'Osprey'

Second up, Pierre De Terre Koffmanns from March Cambridgeshire, unknown variety.

Not the worst we have seen upon opening, but already sprouting in the sack so end up cutting more off due to sprouting and necrosis.

Not had this before, and stored in a dark cold pantry..

 

[Ukjay]

Can you find any valor , good decent alrounder , Cara cross ,the wife informs me , her old man grows them ,

Struggling to be honest. SWMBO does the shopping, so will have to investigate further as it is taking the pee.
Shipping shite in from Spalding is a joke imho..

 

[MikeNeaverson]

Sprouting will be more of an issue this season and in the future because CIPC that used to control sprouting was withdrawn this year. Instead we are left with mint oil or ethylene, neither of which have any residual activity once out of the store

 

[Ukjay]

9m

Sprouting will be more of an issue this season and in the future because CIPC that used to control sprouting was withdrawn this year. Instead we are left with mint oil or ethylene, neither of which have any residual activity once out of the store

I read about that and we simply scrape them off as its the lesser issue, but why the green soft spuds, or necrosis of the potato, as it goes quite deep?

 

[MikeNeaverson]

The top photo looks like they’ve been in a bag for far too long. It’s tinge greening which either happens in store or after packing, not in the field. Was the bag open? Washed spuds dry out and soften quicker than dirty spuds.

 

[Will 1594]

Struggling to be honest. SWMBO does the shopping, so will have to investigate further as it is taking the pee.
Shipping shite in from Spalding is a joke imho..

Wonder how much shipping would be ,would send you a bag to try , or do you want 3 ton

 

[Ukjay]

The top photo looks like they’ve been in a bag for far too long. It’s tinge greening which either happens in store or after packing, not in the field. Was the bag open? Washed spuds dry out and soften quicker than dirty spuds.

Not able to say how long these have been in the farm shop (Covid in and out kinda thing), but that's what we're getting out the bag?

We end up cutting too much off the potato and adding to the compost heap.

And Yes, they were washed versions, and I've asked the better half to look for unwashed options now to see if they are better, but like I said - we have never had this before.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

They don’t look good, the first ones really have a green tint and the chit looks old to me. Washed spuds not the best full stop, dirty are better and keep better.

shame you don’t live near me, I could have supplied you with some tasty ones!

 

[Ukjay]

Wonder how much shipping would be ,would send you a bag to try , or do you want 3 ton

Hmm, not sure we could work with 3 tonne

 

[MikeNeaverson]

To me the photo looks like they were at one stage some lovely spuds but somewhere along the line they’ve been sitting in a bag for a number of weeks

 

[Ukjay]

They don’t look good, the first ones really have a green tint and the chit looks old to me. Washed spuds not the best full stop, dirty are better and keep better.

shame you don’t live near me, I could have supplied you with some tasty ones!

Like I said, never had this before - so was basically wondering if it was a weather induced impact or that local people are simply accepting this poor quality.

Basically we have simply been cutting the crap out, but equally thinking about areas to find better supply, as supporting local only goes so far if the quality is always to this level.

 

[Ukjay]

To me the photo looks like they were at one stage some lovely spuds but somewhere along the line they’ve been sitting in a bag for a number of weeks

I can't honestly say. All I can say is we do not store potatoes long or in the warm well lit area.
Not large consumers by comparison of others, but I can't believe ours is the only bag off the pallet like this each week.

And, they're the better ones..

 

[Devil's advocate]

Rimmer's at Ormskirk always used to supply good potatoes

 

[Sonoftheheir]

@Ukjay what size bag are they and how much £?

 

[Bogweevil]

Commercial crops over-fertilised and over-irrigated - no flavour, poor cooking quality and generally nasty. What do you expect if MOP used? No wonder so much rice and pasta eaten.

Having said that I had to buy some tatties having run out of home grown. Very impressed by Red King Edwards from Waitrose, quality product. https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/red-king-edward-potatoes/086966-44424-44425