The only problem with any of these is in getting the seed potatoes early enough to give them time to chit, so I save some of my own each year.”, But isn’t saving your own seed potatoes a Very Bad Idea, because of the risk that the stored tubers might carry disease? The OPW’s Victorian kitchen garden is in the grounds of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, beside the Phoenix Park Café and Ashtown Castle. £5.00 OFF YOUR FIRST PURCHASE. He tried to visit Virginia on his return from his disastrous venture in Guyana in 1595, but failed. Copyright © 2021 History Publications Ltd, Unit 9, 78 Furze Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland | Tel. These ships brought back various Spanish ‘prize ships’ and also called at Virginia on the return to England. to build an extensive database reflecting Irish lives, Sir Robert’s grandfather and great-uncle were the sons of Richard Southwell of Spixworth in Norfolk and his wife Alice Cornwallis. These potatoes could in all likelihood have been confused with the plants from Virginia brought back by Harriot. “I’d say Lady Christl, without a doubt,” she says. It’s just not that accurate. Also, don’t plant them anywhere that tomatoes (members of the same Solanum species) have grown in at least the last year. For a full list of potato varieties and their resistance to various disease including early and late blight, see the The British Potato Variety Database which is regularly updated. It therefore proved to be rare and expensive in the rest of Europe. Sir Robert’s grandfather was Anthony Southwell (1579-1623), who with his brother Sir Thomas came to Munster in some official capacity in the reign of James I. The really simple guide to switching your health insurance, Rathcoole Co Dublin is within city reach but has all the calm of the country, Bettystown Co Meath is ideally situated for both Dublin and Belfast, 21 beds, 42 baths, and yours for $340m: Irish architect designs America’s most expensive home, Former DCU president sells palatial Westmeath home for €10m, Ongoing housing shortage drives demand for development land, Retail parks seize opportunity presented by High Street’s difficulty, Ireland’s most expensive street identified in new property report. IT’S COLD, it’s dark, it’s wet, it’s windy . The sweet potato (ipomoea batatas) which is unrelated to the potato, grew in lowland areas all around the Caribbean, at the time of the Spanish conquests. Hostilities with Spain had broken out once more, and he was ordered to cause as much damage as possible to the Spanish overseas empire. All figures relate to production by commercial potato growers, defined as those growing 0.8 hectares (2 acres) or more of potatoes. “In fact, it speeds things up. Receive £5.00 off your first purchase or FREE Vegetable seeds when you shop with us for the first time! As for an introduction by Ralegh himself, it is a myth, which is still quoted by historians to this day. The introduction of the tuber as a curiosity from Spain through Waterford, seems highly plausible. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. They rode over the tubers, in pursuit of the Inca leader Atahualpa and his fabled riches. It was immensely popular, providing more than 800 chapters of information on species as they were then understood. Swift Another Very Fast Maturing First Early, About 12 To 14 Weeks.high Yields Of Good Flavoured, Uniform, Firm Fleshed Tubers. Amorosa – Stunning red First Early. First Early Potatoes Plant first early potatoes between the end of February and late May. With cutting you can expect to plant 14-16 individual “hills”. The first journey from Chile to Europe via the Straits of Magellan was not made until 1579, when the potato was already known in Europe. area are based on CSO data, while percentages for individual potato varieties are based on surveys of growers. The potato could not therefore have been growing in Virginia as Gerard states. In Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, when Sir John Falstaff, thinking he is about to bed two women, cries ‘Let the sky rain potatoes’, he is more than likely referring to sweet potatoes. It is recorded in The World Encompassed (1628), that Drake obtained potatoes by barter from the Indians of the Islands of Mocha, off the coast of Chile in November 1578: ‘we being on land, the people came down to us to the water side with shew of great curtesie, bringing to us potatos, rootes and two very fat sheepe’. Little did they realise that, once introduced into Europe, the potato would begin more than four centuries of conquest. Blight Resistant Varieties available. In front of her, carefully stashed in plastic fruit boxes, is a selection of very well-chitted seed potatoes which, one-by-one, are being gently lifted from the pile, their brittle pink shoots and their spidery white roots tenderly disentangled, before theyre lovingly placed individually into half-filled pots and covered with a nicely fibrous compost. Like an early-season Elba for eating quality. Super Early Potatoes Potatoes can be classed as first earlies, second earlies, or maincrop. Seed Potatoes on Sale at Best Online Prices. However, the name papas, was its vernacular not in Virginia, but in its original habitat in the South American Andes. After that, it’s a question of vigilant frost-protection and watering – “but don’t saturate them”. Ironically, given Ralegh’s association with the potato down through the centuries, it was to Drake and not to him that a monument was dedicated in Offenburg, Germany, with the inscription: ‘Sir Francis Drake, introducer of the potato into Europe, in the year of our Lord 1580’. It's a good idea to chit these varieties before planting, allowing them to produce long shoots from which the plants will grow. Types of Potatoes to Try Planting. Varieties Grown What will €895,000 buy in Dublin, Hong Kong, France, Italy and Spain? The humble potato was domesticated in the South American Andes some 8,000 years ago. Finally, don’t waste your time searching for the Mayan Gold potato, the one that Nicky says is a potato to die for. “No, not as long as you use some basic common sense. But they don’t have the pleasure of owning their own polytunnel like some other lucky GYOers do. Given that the potato thrived in Ireland from a very early date (but not in Europe), it was probably solanum tuberosum rather than andigena that was introduced. Look for varieties of ‘first early’ potatoes, which are the quickest growing of the lot. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. And then wait. Tomás O’Riordan tutors in history at University College Cork. Clusius visited Drake in 1581 and published articles the following year on some of Drake’s plants, but again there is no mention of the potato. “ It’s extra early, with lovely, waxy, yellow potatoes, very tasty. Early varieties that mature in less than 90 days are good fits for any garden. Europe’s imperial glory is only a distant memory. Discover the best new potatoes to grow and eat, below. Ralegh evidently saw potatoes off the coast of Venezuela but these were undoubtedly sweet potatoes: Ralegh never went near any area where he might have found solanum tuberosum. To help you decide, we grew and taste-tested 12 varieties. Common sense is the best guide to growing spuds. It is tempting to believe that potatoes came from these Spanish ships which had fallen into English hands. Yet another reason, you might think, for traditionalists to wince. (National Portrait Gallery, London). Clearly the Spanish had come to recognise the value of such a commodity. The story of mashed potatoes takes 10,000 years and traverses the mountains of Peru and the Irish countryside; it features cameos from Thomas Jefferson and a … However, the first venture failed and the colonists returned to England in July 1586 with Sir Francis Drake who was returning after privateering in the West Indies. a Good One For Container Growing. The English herbalist John Gerard (1545-1612), was indebted to Clusius for information regarding the potato. Generally Queens begin to replace Premier or Home Guard in the market place in late June and become the mainstay of the Irish potato market for the summer. First earlies are ideal for planting in potato grow bags or large Click on the green arrow above to get your PROMO CODE and to find out more about our members benefits. Even its gardeners, Meeda Downey and Brian Quinn, have temporarily abandoned it to busy themselves elsewhere, planting young sapling trees in the park. These names indicate when the potatoes will be ready to eat, and also give you an idea of how much space you will need, how closely and when they can be planted. The Irish potato market has been through many changes over the years as the popularity of varieties changes. But the odd thing is that some of the shoots on these seed potatoes are three, even four inches long – a sight to make the purists wince. people both in Ireland and around the world. It has been argued that the first potatoes brought to Europe came from Chile (subspecies tuberosum), because they had been adapted to form tubers in the long summer days of southern temperate latitudes and would feel at home in Europe where the day length was similar. They should start sprouting by Christmas.”. Drake fulfilled his commission, capturing Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands and taking and plundering the cities of Cartagena, St Augustine in Florida, and San Domingo in Hispaniola. They are recorded as holding land in Cork prior to 1609. Davidson, ‘The History of the potato and its progress in Ireland’ in Journal of the Department of Agriculture, XXXIII, no.1 (1937). There are three main types of potato to grow, named according to when you plant and harvest them: first earlies, second earlies and maincrop. Given the fact that the Spanish were the first Europeans to encounter the potato in the New World, and the first to cultivate it on the European mainland, it should come as no surprise if the Spanish were responsible for bringing the first tubers to our shores. There are dozens of different potato varieties, usually described as early, second early, and main crop potatoes. The Potato Association of America Mailing Address: 37637 Five Mile Road, #399 Livonia, MI 48154 Phone: (734) 239-8022 Fax: (734) 677-2407 E-mail: paaoffice@potatoassociation.org As to Ralegh’s voyages, only one touched the coast of Ireland on the return journey, and that at Smerwick, County Kerry, with the crew half-starved. Having completed his renowned second circumnavigation of the globe in November 1580, he was honoured by a visit from Queen Elizabeth I, who dined with him on board his ship, the Golden Hind (formerly the Pelican), which was lying at Deptford in the Thames estuary, but there is no record of potatoes appearing on the menu. The Frenchman Charles d’Écluse, or Clusius (1526-1609), a central figure in the spread of the potato in Europe, in 1601 describes a plant with stems up to 7.5 feet (2.28m) and 10.5 feet (3.2m) long, while also noting that the plants were harvested in November. The Ralegh legend although dating to Southwell in 1693, was made popular by Dr Wright of Edinburgh, who credits Ralegh with the introduction in a letter he wrote to the English Board of Agriculture in 1795. Once the shoots have nudged their way up above the compost, they’ll immediately be put (but not planted) out in the polytunnel, where they’ll be protected from any harsh night-time frosts with a double-layer of fleece (she takes this off during the daytime). Redcliffe Salaman writing in the 1940s was adamant that the length of time needed to transport potatoes to Spain from Chile would have resulted in the death of any tubers. Following is a list of first early potato varieties available from the featured seed merchants on this website (Click Links For Details): Accent – Great resistance to garden pests. Sir Walter Ralegh-did he really introduce the potato to Ireland? Accord – An attractive first early with tasty creamy-white tubers. These can be ready as soon as 10 to 12 weeks after planting. Try some red, purple or yellow-fleshed varieties, or experiment with fingerlings. As long as you’re very gentle with them, you make sure that both the shoots and the roots aren’t allowed to dry out before planting, and you place the shoot on its side rather than planting it upright, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t let the shoots of seed potatoes get that long. But the potato continues to thrive in Ireland and the world as a whole, expanding its consumption empire by the day. In contrast, the potato found in Peru and Colombia (subspecies andigena) is adapted to the shorter days of tropical latitudes and does not tuberise in Europe until very late in the season when the natural day length has shortened to more or less twelve hours in late September and early October. Published in 1597, his celebrated Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, containing more than 1,000 species, became the first plant catalogue, and the first to incorporate a picture of the potato. King Henry VIII, son-in-law of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, was particularly fond of them believing they possessed aphrodisiac qualities, which could provide him with that all-elusive heir. So how did this happen? Fine Edwardian in landmark Limerick terrace for €850k, I got rid of 95% of my stuff, almost everything I’ve ever owned. White flesh and white skins, with firmer skins than the first early new season variety. So when and how did the potato get to Ireland? Among his prizes was the treasure galleon Santa Ann seized off California in November 1587. Certainly this would reconcile a number of statements, although we can only speculate whether this actually happened. Duke of York is another very good first early variety that’s suited to a polytunnel, as is Red Duke of York and Annabelle. First early or ‘new’ potatoes are so-called because they are the earliest to crop, in June. One example of a tuber ideally suited for early season planting is the Irish Cobbler, an irregularly shaped variety with light brown skin. Gerard was a popular man who was often presented not only with rare plants and seeds from different parts of the world but also with offers to supervise the gardens of noblemen. Production Area Ireland’s total production area in 2012 was over 8,700 hectares. Typically you will receive 6-10 potatoes per kg for our Early Season Varieties. February), will they then be planted in the polytunnel (18” apart into flat, raised beds). He mentions a stringy tuberous plant called the ‘openawk’, with which the potato has often been confused right up until the nineteenth century, hence the association of the potato with both Virginia and Ralegh. If Ralegh was in a position to distribute potatoes at an early date, he must surely have got these potatoes from England, since he was never in Virginia and as already mentioned, Solanum tuberosum is not native to Virginia. Certainly 1586 would seem to be the earliest feasible date for introduction to Ireland, and 1600 the latest, since the potato was already being grown in John Gerard’s London garden in 1596. After all, conventional gardening wisdom dictates that shoots be no longer than an inch. Swift potatoes are the earliest of the first early potatoes and they are ready for harvest, if conditions are correct, 10 weeks after the seed potatoes are planted. (Ulster Museum). The confusion may arise due to Ralegh’s association with a number of voyages to North America. If potatoes came from Virginia in 1586 they must already have been on Sir Francis Drakes’ ships and he may have acquired them from the sack of Cartagena on the coast of modern day Colombia. 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