Potatoes & brown staining on flesh
I have been growing potatoes for years and this year I planted Maris Anchor, Cliff Kidney and Jersey Benne. These are the only ones I get seed potatoes for each season and plant in my garden. For some reason this season they have brown staining/marks through the flesh when I peel them otherwise, they look perfect shape and colour on the outside. Can you help – is there something missing in my soil?
There are a number of possibilities as to why there are brown staining marks on the flesh of your potatoes. Staining of the flesh usually relates to moisture levels in the soil during the growing season – normally excess water, rather than too little water. The problem probably isn’t caused by a lack of nutrients as potatoes do not have high nutrient requirements. Incorporating superphosphate (use our Garden Time™ Potato Fertiliser which includes this ingredient), into the soil is a traditional method of preparing the soil for a new crop of potatoes.
We recommend planting next season’s potatoes in a different part of your vegetable garden (crop rotation is important) and trying some alternative varieties instead of your usual Maris Anchor, Cliff Kidney and Jersey Benne. Also check the drainage of the soil in this new part of the vegetable garden where you will grow your potatoes.
