Potato Harvest

This year I have grown two varieties of potato; Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple.  Charlotte is an old favourite of ours.  It is essentially a salad potato with firm, creamy coloured flesh, however it also chips, roasts and mashes well, though thinking about it, I've never tried it as a baked potato...hmm. 

Anyway, I planted up one of our raised beds with Charlotte seed potatoes and the Pink Fir Apple tubers went into the large ex-water butt (it sprung a leak a few seasons ago and has since been used as a potato planter). 

a few Charlottes for tea

The Charlotte potatoes were dug up last week as all the top growth had died off.  On digging through the bed I was disappointed with the size of the crop; I think this is down to the exceedingly dry weather of the past couple of months and also my lack of watering.  In total the plot delivered about half a sack of potatoes, so I don't think we'll be enjoying any homegrown potatoes this Christmas, as we have done in years past.

The Pink Fir Apple is still growing away and it's been more frequently watered - easier to water a container with my trusty watering can then a whole raised bed.  So hopefully the yield will be better.  I've grown this variety as it is rarely available in the supermarket and, although it looks a bit odd, it takes delicious...I wonder how much longer I'll be able to resist tipping out the barrel?