Solanum tuberosum 'Desiree'

The Desire potato (Solanum tuberosum 'Desiree') is a maincrop potato with a red skin and a firm waxy, yellowish flesh, with a distinctive flavour. Best for baking, Desiree potatoes can also be boiled, mashed or chipped, but don't work so well steamed, or as a salad potato. Desiree potatoes show some resistance to blight, drought and scab.

Maincrop potatoes occupy the ground longer than other potatoes, but produce the heaviest yields, often with very large tubers. Typically, they're planted in April and harvested from August to October.

Plant Desiree potatoes as you would any other maincrop variety, from mid-spring (usually mid- to late-April, depending on where you are in the country). Prepare the soil well and incorporate plenty of organic matter before planting in a trench 12cm deep or in individual planting holes. You may wish to 'chit' your potatoes by leaving them in a cool, light spot for a couple of weeks before planting, to encourage the tubers to form shoots – this is said to help improve potato yields. Water in dry periods only and then again when the plants start to flower, The potatoes will be ready to harvest after the foliage has died down, typically from mid-August to October. Water plants thoroughly two weeks before harvesting.