Ratte x Blue Belle

[Galina]

I meant to photograph these much earlier after digging up. Well now it is time to put them in egg boxes in bright light to continue chitting. Better late than never.

A lovely shaped potato. Looking forward to growing them 'properly' for the first time.

[Admin]

Very nice, love the shape.

[Galina]

Have just dug up what grew of the seed potatoes above. Hundreds of them, like Ratte, but for some reason most were not as long as the above. Most were rounder. Weird. However the yield was so high, I will again collect the largest for seed potatoes for next year. And I need to go through the growing area carefully because there were so many tubers, I am bound to have missed quite a few. The plants had gone or were in the process of going, I don't think I have dug them too early. As the yields were so high, I am hoping for quite a few more growing cycles before any decline shows itself.

[jayb]

Sounds good , were they a decent size tuber or smaller types because they cropped a lot?

[jayb]

I meant to add I find it sometimes surprising how much a seedling can visually resemble one of it's parents.

[Galina]

I was wondering whether they paused developing tubers after the very dry weather we had and later restarted. The first tubers were finished and the second 'flush' was far more numerous. I did not much water them when it was so dry, as they were under a thick grass mulch and water was so short a few weeks ago too. Yes these do not have a lot of Blue Belle about them, but that does not matter, they are really nice to eat.

[jayb]

It's been an odd growing year, I think you are right the dry growing conditions will have had an impact and perhaps next year they will behave differently.
Isn't it weird, Silverleaf's 'happy Blue Belles' are a lovely long shape, with Blue Belle type colouring.

[Galina]

Straw bale grown I believe - now there is an advertisement to give that method a try. More moisture retaining by far. I thought I had it under control with a good layer of mulch, but clearly it must have got too dry. I have also been 'open mouthed' at Silverleaf's superb 'smilies'. However I got such huge numbers, that overall really 'it's all good'.

[jayb]

Mmm, If I were growing both Ratte and Blue belle again, I'd still think to make the cross as it just makes my mouth water thinking of the combination of the two. Good to have you confirm it and hopefully I'll be able to have enough room to squeeze some in next year, who knows what will spring up

[Silverleaf]

My long Blue Belles were grown in my new palletwood planter boxes, filled with a layer of shredded hedge clippings/kitchen scraps/rabbit bedding, then horse manure, then cheap B&Q compost. I mulched with grass clippings and only watered when it looked really dry.

That's a good point though, I have to think of names for the new potatoes!

[Galina]

So sorry, I started this post not realising that there was a Ratte x BlueBelle post already. Can you combine please? My bad!

[Galina]

Yes they do look more like Ratte not a hint of blue. However at least this year they are back to the longish shape, rather than the marbles of last year. I guess it must be a question of water. All the little ones on the plants were like large marbles, but the bigger ones were the elongated shape. Good harvest too, no deterioration. Mind you I am growing an experimental potato from Mr Jalving that was given out on Potato Day in 2009 and that has also performed really well, no deterioration either. If we can keep our own potatoes generally for this length of time with a little care not to replant the poorer plants, then Snookie, HotDog, Palest Pink Eye and others should be around for quite a while yet too.