Potato varieties on sale in 2023

If you’d like some seed potatoes to plant this spring, have a look at the 30 potato varieties we have available. There’s something for everyone, from our regular favourites to some more unusual varieties.

All our potatoes are £2 per dozen, pick and mix (or 20p each). You can choose just what you need – and you’ll be supporting our food growing community at the same time. We’ll also have shallots, onions and lots of other vegetable seeds available this spring. 

You can pick up your seed potatoes from our Huddersfield Potato Day and Seed Swap on Saturday 4th March 2022 from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ.

If you have any questions, you can email us at: GrowingNewsome@gmail.com

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Our list of potato varieties

First earlies

Casablanca (Organic), Colleen (Organic), Lady Christl, Maris Bard (Organic), Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpe’s Express, Winston

Second earlies

Bambino (Organic), Charlotte (Organic), Kestrel, Maris Peer (Organic), Nicola, Ratte, Sarpo Una (Organic)

Mains

Ambo (Organic), Belle de Fontenay, Cara (Organic), Carolous (Organic), Desiree, Heidi Red (Organic), Highland Burgundy Red, International Kidney, Java, Orla (Organic), Picasso, Pink Fir Apple, Salad Blue (Organic), Sarpo Kifli, Sarpo Mira (Organic)

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Advance orders 

We’re accepting a limited number of advance orders this year. Please send us your order request no later than Wednesday 8th February 2023. Or you can just turn up to our event to make your choice.

Order your seed potatoes in advance

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Popular potato picks

Rocket – first early

Rocket is well named, because it grows really quickly. It’s among the first potato varieties to crop and produces large quantities of uniform shaped tubers. It’s also well suited to growing at home in containers or potato bags.

 

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Charlotte – second early

Charlotte is a popular, easy to grow, waxy salad variety. You can grow fresh flavoured potatoes which taste great either hot or cold. Ideal for salads and your crop will store until Christmas. Good disease resistance and high yielding.

 

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Kestrel – second early

Kestrel is one of our ever-popular early potato varieties. It has a unique purple blush, a naturally occurring trait which is passed on from the parent variety, the Cara potato. Kestrel has a delicious, slightly-sweet flavour and is great for baking, roasting and chips. It also has good disease resistance and was recommended by Joe Maiden. 

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Desiree – main crop

Desiree is a very popular choice for food growers. The tasty white and creamy flesh has a lovely, fluffy texture when cooked. Great whether baked, roasted or mashed. It’s very versatile and easy to grow.

 

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Sarpo Mira – main crop (Organic)

Sarpo potatoes are grown by the Sarvari Research Trust in North Wales. These potatoes all have excellent resistance to blight, so they are ideal for organic growers. Our participants have had great success with Sarpo Mira in particular and we always grow these ourselves. Or you might like to try sister varieties Sarpo Kifli or Sarpo Una.

 

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Pink Fir Apple – late main crop (heritage)

Pink Fir Apple potatoes are always in high demand here – and rightly so. They’re one of our all time favourites, great tasting both hot and cold. You can cook them whole in their skins, so don’t worry about peeling this unusual shaped spud. To make sure that you don’t miss out on this firm favourite, we keep lots of them in stock. Enjoy!

 

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Organised by Growing Newsome

Our special thanks to the
West Yorkshire Organic Group
for supporting our Potato Day.

 

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Autumn event – Saturday 29th October 2022

Love local food? There’s lots for you to enjoy at this event…

Autumn event

Saturday 29th October 2022
10am to 1pm

Newsome Scout Hall
Newsome Road South
Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Get together with other food growers, neighbours and friends.

Autumn-planting vegetables to grow at home or on your allotment.

Tea, coffee and homemade cakes available.

Lots of jam and preserves made from fruit and vegetables grown in Newsome

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Autumn planting

Autumn planting vegetables for you to take home – including a selection of garlic bulbs, onions, seeds, overwintering leaf crops and anything else we can rustle up. You can also let us know what kind of seeds and plants you’d like us to have available in 2023.

Garlic bulbs available at our Autumn event 2022

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Meet local organisations including Huddersfield Raw Honey – with local honey available to buy.

Book stall with all sorts of books.

Children’s craft activities.

Information about local volunteering, events and activities.

Look after your winter crops – plant protection fleece on sale.

Got something to share? You can bring along spare fruit or vegetables, seeds, recipes or anything you’d like to share. 

Jam jar amnesty – clean, small jam jars (1 Ib or less) that fit a 63mm lid are welcome.

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Wild Plant Walk, 10.30am to 12 noon – now on Saturday 29th October

Find out how to use and identify wild plants, what you can eat and what plants you can use for health benefits. This walk is organised by our friends at Growing Works, who will also have a stall at our event.

Wild Plant Walk leaflet (PDF)

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Hot homegrown lunch: served from 12 noon to 1pm

Enjoy some seasonal soup for lunch at the Scout Hall, made with some locally grown vegetables and served with a selection of fresh breads, followed by a hot Autumn pudding made with local fruit.

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Share what you love about nature

What do you and your family love about nature? On the day you can take part in the UK’s biggest ever conversation about the future of nature by adding something to a special tree. You’ll be helping to shape the People’s Plan for Nature, powered by WWF, the National Trust and the RSPB.

Part of Local Democracy Week 2022 in Kirklees.

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How you can help

• Bring something for the cake stall.
• Bring along the rest of the family or bring a friend.
• Please get in touch if you’d like to come along and help out on the day.

Organised by Growing Newsome

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We’re really sorry for the short notice, but due to an unexpected issue with our venue’s roof we’re having to change the date of our Autumn event (which was originally planned for 22nd October). Thank you for your patience.

Local organisations who are interested in taking part in our events are welcome to contact us.

Remembering David Browning 1939-2022

David’s 80th birthday, June 2019

I had the great fortune to meet David when he moved to the Newsome area and joined our community forum. He brought all his learning and decades of food growing experience with him. Always keen to help others and generous with his time and expertise, David quickly embarked on a tour of allotment sites, keen to investigate why local people were struggling to find an allotment, despite there being plots available “on paper”. His belief in seeing things for yourself and taking the time to understand how things really are for people is something that helped to shape Growing Newsome.

We first started working together through our shared interest in local land for food growing and wildlife. Through David’s contacts, we were able to work with Steve and Kate’s wonderful research company, who supported us to go out and ask hundreds of local people whether they wanted to grow their own food, and what might help them. The results were overwhelmingly positive – and three weeks after hearing those results, we held our first Growing Newsome event.

David at our first ever Growing Newsome event, May 2009

This was the beginning of a decade of working with David. In that time, we learned that we were growing far more than food – we were growing friendships and a shared sense of belonging. And David was a real friend throughout it all. Despite having worked on so many other projects, we knew that he really valued the work we were doing in our local neighbourhood and he encouraged us to share our learning with other groups and organisations. He was always looking ahead and was a great strategic thinker. But he also had a huge amount of practical knowledge and skills, which he was generous in sharing. He helped us to build growing frames at our community allotment and helped lots of others to build raised beds for growing food.

David helping to set up our Community Allotment, 2010

Each October he would run the garlic stall at our Autumn event in Newsome Scout Hall, using his encyclopaedic understanding of the different varieties and growing techniques to help people choose well. When discussing the health benefits of Growing Newsome in a workshop one day, he joked that he was sure we’d collectively lowered the blood pressure of half of Newsome by the sheer amount of garlic that we’d given out and encouraged people to grow over the years.

David with my mum and Cherry on our stall at Stirley Farm, 2011

The crops that David grew at his own allotment were as abundant as his knowledge. Once a year, we’d get a message saying that he was overrun with fruit and please could we come and pick some to help him out (though of course, he was really helping us). We were amazed by the huge crop of loganberries, the unfeasibly enormous blackcurrants, and the seemingly never-ending supply of berries from what came to be known as “David’s infinite gooseberry bush”.

We started Growing Newsome together in the belief that we all have something to share – that between us, we have everything we need to grow our own food. David was a great example of that. He shared so much with us over the years, and with me personally. More than once I would come home to find a little packet on my doormat which contained a wonderful book that I had not ordered, only later to discover that David had thoughtfully sent me a copy because he thought I might find it useful. I suspect that he quietly helped lots of people in similar ways, building people’s confidence and making sure that we knew how to do things ourselves, so that we could support other people in future.

David with me & a visitor at our Community Allotment, July 2015

This summer, we had a particularly good crop of loganberries and gooseberries at our community allotment. It made me think of David and remember the happy afternoons spent picking masses of fruit at his immaculately kept allotment, harvesting the fruits of his labour for people in our community to enjoy.

Diane, Growing Newsome

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You might also like to read this tribute from David’s friend Ali Stopher:

Celebrating the Life of David Browning

Garlic bulbs available in 2022

Our Autumn planting vegetables this year will include seven different varieties of garlic. Pick up your garlic from our Autumn event on Saturday 29th October from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ.

Garlic needs a month or more in the ground at a temperature of 10C or less, and Autumn planting gives you the best chance for this. So you can get planting yours soon – all you need to do is decide what sort to grow.

To help you choose, here are some notes…

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Carcassone Wight

• Exceptional hardneck garlic with pink cloves
• Great strength of flavour
• Good skin cover
• Has great vigour in the UK climate
• Can be planted in autumn or spring
• This variety was probably brought to Carcassonne by pilgrims travelling east

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Caulk Wight

• Purple-striped bulbs which resist splitting
• Hardneck variety from Eastern Europe
• Grows well in the UK climate
• Good flavour and easy to peel
• Perfect for autumn planting
• Harvest as early as June

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Germidour (organic)

• Fast growing French variety with high yields
• A rich purple head with ivory clove skins – very attractive non-flowering variety
• Can be strung or plaited
• Winner of RHS Award of Gardening Merit
• Plant October or November for harvest in June
• Lift as soon as mature. Should keep until December following harvesting

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Mersley Wight

• Has the best keeping quality (up to 10 months)
• Softneck variety well suited to UK growing
• Classic silverskin garlic
• Larger cloves and very vigorous
• Plant in late winter or ideally early spring
• Harvest in late July or early August

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Messidor (organic)

• A new, very attractive white variety
• Produces very high yields
• Strong roots – an excellent choice for our wet British winters 
• Harvest semi-dry from June
• Has 10-15 beige cloves per bulb
• Softneck variety with a rounded flavour

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Picardy Wight

• Originally from the fields of Picardy, growing around the battllefields of the Somme
• Hardneck variety which copes really well with cooler and wetter conditions – will grow where other varieties have struggled
• Strong flavoured bulbs which store well
• Plant from October to March
• Harvest July to August

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Thermidrome (organic)

• A traditional variety producing large white heads with a hint of pink, and large white cloves
• Very hardy so ideal even in harsh conditions
• A non-flowering, softneck variety which can be strung or plaited
• Plant in October or November
• Harvest in July – the bulbs should then keep until the December following harvesting

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You can pick up your garlic bulbs from our Autumn event on Saturday 29th October from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall.

If you have a small garden or plot, getting your garlic from us means that you don’t need to buy a whole pack. It’s also great if you fancy planting more than one variety and you just want one bulb of each – or if you want lots, but want to save some pennies (and avoid paying for postage). Although seed costs have increased for us this year, we’re keeping our prices at just £2 per bulb (which helps towards covering our costs).

We’ll have several varieties of onions, some shallots, vegetable seeds and plants available too.

If you can’t make it to our Autumn event, we will offer any remaining stock afterwards. You can Join our email list for updates.

Coffee Morning and Annual Meeting 2022

Saturday 2nd July, 10.30am to 12 noon

Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Join Growing Newsome’s volunteers for an informal morning.

Enjoy a cuppa and a chat. Hear about our activities so far and talk with us about what you’d like Growing Newsome to do in future.

We’re also keen to hear from other organisations who might like to work with us in the coming year.

Free refreshments including homemade cake.

Growing Newsome stall with plants and preserves.

This is also our AGM, where we’ll be electing our organising group.

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Print our poster to share

agm-leaflet-2022Download

Willow weaving taster, 12th July 2022

Tuesday 12th July from 10am to 12.30pm
In Newsome or nearby

Join us to try some willow weaving.

We will make a simple willow platter for you to take away. Useful in the kitchen for bread or cake cooling, for serving food or for lots of other things. We will also look at using different natural materials that can be found in the garden.

Free. Booking essential – all tools and materials provided. Tea provided.

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Let us know if you’d like to take part

Update: This session is fully booked now, but if you are interested then please get in touch. We’ll let you know if a place becomes available. We may also organise future sessions.

Email us: growingnewsome@gmail.com

Or contact Sue Brown: 07444 390071
or email: sue.brown@greenandbrown.org.uk

Getting (back) into growing – workshops in July 2022

Getting (back) into growing your own food

Venue: Hangingstone Road, Berry Brow

Join in this series of informal growing workshops, designed to give you confidence to grow your own fruit and veg, with your available time and energy.

Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.30pm:

• 5th July Growing mediums and composting
• 12th July Growing winter salads and undercover growing
• 19th July Pests, diseases and organic methods of prevention
• 26th July Perennial fruit, herbs and vegetables

Combining theory with practical hands-on growing, we will look at the best use of growing space, soil management and tool use in every session. We encourage participants to ask questions and let us know your interests.

Gardening clothes, gloves and boots required (there is some steep and uneven ground). Notebook useful. Tea provided – please bring a mug!

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Book your free place

These activities are funded by Growing Newsome. Places are limited and booking is essential.

Book online now:

Book your free place for our Tuesday evening sessions

Questions? Contact us…

Contact Sue Brown: 07444 390071
or email: sue.brown@greenandbrown.org.uk

Getting (back) into growing leaflet (PDF)

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Looking for something different?

To help us plan our future activities, please tell us about any activities or events you’d like to take part in (and any other ways we can help you to grow your own food) here:

How can we help you to grow this year?

Big Plant Swap – Saturday 21st May 2022

Big Plant Swap

Saturday 21st May 2022
10am to 1pm

Free admission – all welcome

Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Plant Swap

Come and take your pick from hundreds of plants and seedlings at our popular annual plant swap – great for food growers and friends. You can choose from: Vegetables, Salads, Herbs, Fruit and Wildlife-friendly flowers.

You’re very welcome to bring along plants, seedlings, cuttings or seeds to swap.

Our top tips for plant swappers

• It’s really helpful to other growers if you can label your plants.
• You might like to bring along a trug, basket or tray to carry your plants home in.
• We advise hanging around to see what else appears during the morning.

Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to swap – you don’t need to bring something to be able to take something. You can make a donation to Growing Newsome in exchange for your plants.

We also accept donations of plants ahead of the event – just email us if you have something to share: growingnewsome@gmail.com

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Lots more to enjoy…

Seed Swap – vegetables and other seeds to swap or buy.

Stalls, including local produce on sale.

Children’s craft activities.

Plant some seeds to grow on your windowsill.

Tea, coffee and home made cakes.

Information about growing your own food.

Crop protection materials on sale.

Find out about local projects and events.

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Meet local growing and wellbeing organisations

We’ll be joined on the day by:

• Peaceful Remedies – including an Outdoor Yoga taster session at 1pm
• Huddersfield Raw Honey – with local honey available to buy
• Growing Works – with an activity or two for you to try

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Join us for lunch

Served 12 noon to 1pm

Enjoy a healthy lunch at Newsome Scout Hall – with recipes for you to take home. We’ll be serving a selection of tasty salads from our Spring salad bar with pasta and roasted vegetables, plus a fruit pudding.

We ask for a small donation to cover the costs of making your lunch.

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Want to help?

Volunteer
We’re looking for volunteers to help out with our events and activities. Contact us at growingnewsome@gmail.com to find out more, or ask on the day.

Print our poster
Help us to promote the event:
Big Plant Swap poster 2022 (PDF)

Stalls & info

If your local group or organisation are interested in having a stall at one of our events or you’d like to bring some local information to share on the day, please get in touch: growingnewsome@gmail.com

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What happens at the Plant Swap?
Here’s a short film about Growing Newsome’s Plant Swap, made by Alistair I Macdonald at Curlew Films for Plant it Grow it Eat it.

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Growing Newsome Seed Swap & Huddersfield Potato Day – Saturday 5th March 2022

Get your growing year off to a great start with our bumper early Spring event…

Seed Swap and Potato Day

Saturday 5th March 2022
10am to 1pm

Venue: Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

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Huddersfield Potato Day

Choose from 20 different types of seed potato, including popular easy-to-grow varieties and some more unusual types. All seed potatoes are £2 per dozen (pick and mix) or 20p each. Our 2020 varieties are:

1st Earlies:
Casablanca (organic), Epicure, Maris Bard (organic), Red Duke of York, Rocket, Vitabella (organic).

2nd Earlies:
Charlotte, Kestrel, Maris Peer (organic), Nicola (organic), Ratte, Sarpo Una (organic).

Mains:
Ambo (organic), Blue Annelise (organic), Cara (organic), Desiree, Orla (organic), Pink Gypsy (organic), Sarpo Mira (organic), Pink Fir Apple.

More info about our varieties:
Potato picker list 2022 (PDF)
Popular potato picks 2022

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Seed Swap

Seeds galore – We’ll also have vegetable and salad seeds, lots of onion sets and shallots on offer. You can either swap, or pick up some seeds in exchange for a small donation. Try our seed starter packs – ideal for growing in small spaces.

Activities –  Enjoy seed planting and crafts for kids with our Growing Newsome volunteers.

Local food on sale – Jam and other preserves made from fruit and veg grown in Newsome..

Huddersfield Raw Honey – local honey and beekeeping info from Ryad Alsous.

Plant protection materials – protect your homegrown crops.

Books – Book stall with all sorts of books.

Refreshments – Tea, coffee and home made cakes available.

Help with growing – Please ask for advice.

Local information – Come and promote your group or activity.

Plant pot & jam jar amnesty – Bring along your spare small plant pots or small jam jars (we can only use 1Ib jam jars or smaller, which will fit a standard 63mm screw top lid).

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Join us for lunch

served 12 noon to 1pm 

Enjoy a warming, two-course cooked lunch, featuring some local ingredients.

Free admission. All welcome. And please tell all your friends!

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Want to help?

Volunteer
We’re looking for volunteers to help out with our events and activities. Contact us at growingnewsome@gmail.com to find out more, or ask on the day.

Print our poster
Help us to promote the event:
Huddersfield Potato Day 2022 (PDF)

Stalls

If your local group or organisation are interested in having a stall at one of our events, please get in touch: growingnewsome@gmail.com

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Organised by Growing Newsome

With our special thanks to the
West Yorkshire Organic Group
for supporting our Potato Day.

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Potato varieties on sale in 2022

If you’d like some seed potatoes to plant this spring, have a look at some of the 20 potato varieties we have available. There’s something for everyone, from our regular favourites to some more unusual varieties.

All our potatoes are £2 per dozen, pick and mix (or 20p each). You can choose just what you need – and you’ll be supporting our food growing community at the same time. We’ll also have shallots, onions and lots of other vegetable seeds available this spring. 

All being well, you can pick up your seed potatoes from our Huddersfield Potato Day and Seed Swap on Saturday 5th March 2022 from 10am at Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ. Sorry we’re not able to take any advance orders this year, but you can pick up your potatoes from our event, or buy afterwards if we have some left. If you have any questions, you can email us at: GrowingNewsome@gmail.com

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Our full list of potato varieties:

Potato picker 2022 – full details of all our varieties (PDF)

We have our six most popular potato picks available in much larger quantities.
More than half of our varieties are Organic. We also have some heritage and blight-resistant varieties.

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Popular potato picks

Rocket – first early

Rocket is well named, because it grows really quickly. It’s among the first potato varieties to crop and produces large quantities of uniform shaped tubers. It’s also well suited to growing at home in containers or potato bags.

 

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Charlotte – second early

Charlotte is a popular, easy to grow, waxy salad variety. You can grow fresh flavoured potatoes which taste great either hot or cold. Ideal for salads and your crop will store until Christmas. Good disease resistance and high yielding.

 

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Kestrel – second early

Kestrel is one of our ever-popular early potato varieties. It has a unique purple blush, a naturally occurring trait which is passed on from the parent variety, the Cara potato. Kestrel has a delicious, slightly-sweet flavour and is great for baking, roasting and chips. It also has good disease resistance and was recommended by Joe Maiden. 

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Desiree – main crop

Desiree is a very popular choice for food growers. The tasty white and creamy flesh has a lovely, fluffy texture when cooked. Great whether baked, roasted or mashed. It’s very versatile and easy to grow.

 

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Sarpo Mira – main crop (Organic)

Sarpo potatoes are grown by the Sarvari Research Trust in North Wales. These potatoes all have excellent resistance to blight, so they are ideal for organic growers. Our participants have had great success with Sarpo Mira in particular and we always grow these ourselves.

 

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Pink Fir Apple – late main crop (heritage)

Pink Fir Apple potatoes are always in high demand here – and rightly so. They’re one of our all time favourites, great tasting both hot and cold. You can cook them whole in their skins, so don’t worry about peeling this unusual shaped spud. To make sure that you don’t miss out on this firm favourite, we keep lots of them in stock. Enjoy!

 

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Organised by Growing Newsome

Our special thanks to the
West Yorkshire Organic Group
for supporting our Potato Day.

 

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