Growing Coloured & Unusual Potato Types
Looking to add some excitement to your potato patch? With a wealth of coloured, knobbly, and rare varieties available, you can grow spuds in shades of purple, blue, red, or pink—and enjoy unique flavors, textures, and health benefits.
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🍂 Essential Garden & Allotment Products for October
October is the perfect time to prepare your garden
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🥬 Seed Trays & Propagation Kits
Keep growing through autumn by starting suitable hardy crops under cover.
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Why Grow Coloured or Specialty Potatoes?
- Eye-Catching Harvests:
Impress friends and family with purple, pink, or “rainbow” potatoes. - Nutritional Boost:
Deeper colored spuds often contain more antioxidants (like anthocyanins). - Taste & Texture:
Some have chestnutty, earthy, or nutty flavors—as well as waxy or floury textures not found in standard varieties. - Fun for Kids:
Great for engaging children in the garden and at the dinner table.
Popular Coloured & Unusual Varieties
- Purple & Blue:
‘Purple Majesty’, ‘Blue Danube’, ‘Vitelotte’. - Red & Pink:
‘Pink Fir Apple’, ‘Red Duke of York’, ‘Rosabelle’. - Multi-Colored or Streaked:
‘Shetland Black’ (purple skin, white flesh with a blue ring), ‘Salad Blue’, ‘Cara’ (pink eyes). - Knobbly or Fingerling Types:
‘Pink Fir Apple’, ‘Ratte’, ‘Russian Banana’—long, narrow, and richly flavored.
How to Grow
- Exactly like ordinary potatoes:
Plant, earth up, water, and feed following standard potato guides. - Containers & Raised Beds:
Perfect for smaller trial crops or for showing off colorful spuds.
Cooking & Eating Coloured Potatoes
- Best steamed, roasted, or used in salads to showcase their colors.
- Some types hold color better when boiled or microwaved than roasted.
- Purple varieties make stunning chips, mash, or even crisps.
Tips for Growing Success
- Buy seed potatoes from reputable sources—rare types sometimes have lower vigor.
- See if your favorite can be grown as a first early, second early, or maincrop (label will indicate).
- Note: Some colored potatoes yield slightly less than mainstream types—plant a few extra for a good crop.
Saving and Replanting
- Save the best tubers for seed to maintain and gradually adapt unusual types to your garden’s conditions.