Potato Varieties Explained
There are about 4.000 different potato varieties grown across the globe. Needless to say, but categorising them all would be a mammoth task, and what’s more, wouldn’t make sense since only 80-100 of them are available in the UK.At the time of writing, you’ll find around 50 of those varieties on this site, categorised by their growing timeline as first early, second early and maincrop potatoes. This is how you’ll most often find potatoes divided into varieties, certainly from a potato growers perspective.
But, there are other ways you could divide potatoes into varieties, such as by their cooking properties, their colour and their ability to withstand pests and diseases. Each of these varieties makes sense to different audiences – cooks, exhibitors and growers.
The following is a list of groups of potato varieties currently found on this website:
First Early Varieties – These potato varieties will give you the first harvest of new potatoes of the summer.
Second Early Varieties – Second earlies will be ready to harvest just after the first earlies, approximately 2 weeks down the line.
Maincrop Varieties – Maincrop potatoes are the ones you leave to mature, so you can lift them at the end of the season and store them for use during winter.
http://how-to-grow-potatoes.co.uk/buying-seed-potatoes/potato-varieties-explained/#sthash.INzf2hUo.dpuf