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t’s here. Yes, the time has come to buy your potato seeds! Right now is when both gardening squares like me and budding growers are starting to deliberate all the ace new varieties of fruit and veg we can grow over the next few months. Indeed, most of us are already welly-deep in seed catalogues, or ploughing through the web for promises of unusual, tasty, bugproof varieties, all hoping to discover the next best veg. This year, however, I’ve composted the seed catalogues and instead pulled on my best woolly hat to head for the promised land: the original Potato and Seed Day, held at Castle Cary. Now in its twelfth year, its organiser, Pennard Plants, is touring the West Country, bringing with it buckets of traditional and unusual seed potatoes, handpicked heritages, and every other pip, kernel, bean, tuber and nut you could imagine, all to get us growing this spring. Whether you’re an experienced gardener and allotment veteran, or haven’t grown so much as a spot of cress since Primary School, the friendly Pennard lot are happy to talk veg. I was a kid in a sweet shop there, ending up with wide eyes and wider bags, filled with all kinds of treats. Think the tasty Pink Fir Apple salad potato (great boiled and mixed into a
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TATERS TO TRY Newbie growers: Go for a classic Vivaldi, the multipurpose spud. It’s creamy textured (great for mash) and kind on the beginner. Pot, bucket and bag growers: Try the Sarop Mira variety. I’ve grown heaps from one plant in a pot – and they’re darn tasty, to boot. For everyone: Red Duke of York, which grows large potatoes, is excellent for roasting – just watch out for the bugs!
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