Maris Piper potatoes

i dont think the climate in the UK would be that much different to here or that it would be so consistent year on year that what you say is true (this year a good example)

i think its a matter of seed spud supply, you could of course build that up here

look it was an irish grower who created this variety

again the climate here is perfect for spuds, what would you think is particular about this variety

A neighbour here used to grow them. I used to do the odd day with him when I was a teenager.

Big feckin' lumpers of yokes. The only advantage of them was that they went into 25kg bags when most of the other ones were starting to go into 10kg bags.... You'd be bollixed when you were doing the 10kg bags. The Maris Pipers were going for catering.

BTW, tell your chipper buddies that we know a fella who is willing and raring to put in 5-6 acres of them for next year. He'll dig them with a four prong fork.

Sure the difference in County Cork alone is incredible, hell even in a farm my driest field is as dry a field in Ireland, 6 inches outside of the wire, it is blue mud underneath and that field can only be grazed for a few months.

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It's because the Brits took our best spuds back during the famine and left us starving.

The Maris Pipers are classed under the taxonomy of "Protestant spuds" which are slightly different from a scientific perspective

We have a front “Hagart” and a back hagart. No more than 100 metres between them.

New potatoes from the back are twice as good. Dry floury new potatoes. The ones from the front by contrast are always a little more greasy and less floury (still better than anything you could buy but…..).

It might be that the UK seed growers are keeping the good seed for the UK market and then sending what's left overseas? Just a thought. There's a kind of culture of doing the best for your fellow people over there, something that Ireland lacks.

I've to disagree with you there. The amount of talking behind backs here is unbelievable.

There's plenty of Pipers grown in Ireland it's just unlike chipping where the quality req is for dry matter and sugars, eatin spuds need a designer spud with a perfect finish to keep the housewife happy. You need to put on alot of water to keep skins moist and be gentle harvesting not to scratch or bruise.

Reason for a rise in prices are quality spuds were scarce last year and there wasn't the market to bother storing until late spring. Currently green top Rooster being dug as what's in store is already spoken for at nearly double last autumns price.