[rockstar]

we have used up our supply of home ground potatoes,so OH sent me to buy a 25 kg bag from local garage.I get them from there every year when we go short and are priced well at £6to£8 a bag for Estima. so the thing is has the garage ripped me off or has the poor weather last summer really taken affect ,She charged me£11 for 25kg bag!

[NormandyMary]

My hubby noticed last October how they had shot up in price, virutally double what he had previously paid. Dont complain though, english potatoes are loads better than french ones. Id do anything for a sack of Marfona or King Edwards, even Maris Piper would do, as long as the skin went crispy in the oven!!

[deepinthewoods]

you havent been ripped. its the same down here, maris piper 25kg £11. my last bag in october were 8.50.
theres a potatoe field near me, and they tried 3 times to get on it but it was too wet for lifting, literally red muddy rivers running down the road.

[Daisys Mum]

Have noticed they are around £10 a bag here just now, like you I was paying £6-£7 a bag last year . I'm afraid it has to do with the awful weather and its not going to be any better this year. I hear Tesco have sourced most of their potatoes for this year from abroad. Farmers  in this area would hope to be planting in M arch but with the sodden ground, some of it not even ploughed yet, they are not going to be able to.

[Herdygirl]

  £11 for a 25 k bag is a good price.

I have learned to make my peelings thin. 

[scarlettoara]

  £11 for a 25 k bag is a good price.

I have learned to make my peelings thin. 

i have a great peeler that gets peelings wafer thin, its really sharp so great for pumpskins etc but would also take your skin off if you slipped. such a waste when you see chefs on tv peeling great chunks off with a knife. 

[tizaala]

Last year we were paying £4.99 for 25Killo , now they are selling 10killo for £5 . and if you think that's bad wait till next year, things will only get worse.    even if we have a good harvest prices never come down.

[the great composto]

What are you paying for seed potatoes?  Mine are about 18.00 for 25kg.

Must be cheaper up north

[Fowgill Farm]

Around here a lot of last years spuds are still in the ground rotting, whats more is the farmers can't get on the land with their big kit to plough them in so the land is nowhere near being ready toput this years crop in and unlikely to be given the current weather conditions.
Other arable farmers round us reckon that of 500 acres drilled only 50 will grow anything like and another farmer has 250 acres drilled of which only 16 are any good. It is going to be a hard year all round; for the farming community those  arable farmers who have fields cropless and those with livestock paying increased prices for feed stufs  and at the the end of the day consumers. 
Pray for  whovever your God maybe.
Mandy
 

[deepinthewoods]

i think im going to change my planting plans to include more room for spuds.

[RUSTYME]

Still digging spuds up here , only had one mank one so far , slugs !
I moved the spuds mid season , to a different section of the plot in 2012 , hence poor crop , about 1 1/2 lb per plant , normally get over 300 lb off the plot .
Even with sodden ground , the spuds are good though .
I normally grow 15' x 30' of spuds , but may grow extra this year due to what the weather has done , family may be moving nearer very soon , so more mouths to feed .

[hexhammeasure]

SFS - supplies for smallholders has some at a pretty good price

[Lesley Silvester]

I don't peel potatoes except for mash.  Just give them a good scrub.

[Derby_menagerie]

Price of potatoes is high, I know someone who had gangs out harvesting by hand as they couldn't get the machines in, but price so good they could afford to pay people to harvest my hand!

[Marches Farmer]

If you have space I'd certainly consider planting extra potatoes this year.  I put slugs pellets into the hole with the potato and use beer traps.  Can't use pellets as we have a very healthy hedgehog population.  Our local farmers gave up on the crop and left it rotting.  They say they're unlikely to get onto the land before April and perhaps as late as June!