PENTLAND JAVELIN POTATO

By David Marks
A superb tasting first early type of potato which takes a week or two longer than other first earlies to mature. It’s quite possible to leave it in the ground longer which results in a more floury and larger potato.Pentland Javelin was bred by Dr. Jack Dunnett MBE who is probably the foremost potato breeder during the last 50 years. He was awarded the British Potato Industry Award in 2013 and this variety of potato is a credit to his abilities.

PARENTAGE

The parents of Pentland Javelin are both unnamed varieties

APPEARANCE, TASTE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PENTLAND JAVELIN

The Pentland Javelin Potato

An average looking first early potato but Pentland Javelin comes tops for taste. Best used as boiled in salads or as new potatoes this is a waxy variety which keeps its shape well. The skin is light brown with very few eyes, the flesh is light cream which stays that colour when cooked. The plants are of medium height so can be grown in most conditions. Disease resistance is above average and this variety suffers very little slug damage.

POSITIVE POINTS FOR PENTLAND JAVELIN
Top tasting new potato, can be left in the ground to mature further.

NEGATIVE POINTS FOR PENTLAND JAVELIN
No significant negative points, although this variety takes a week or two longer to bulk up compared to other first earlies.

BUYING PENTLAND JAVELIN SEED POTATOES

Pentland Javelin is not a common variety of potato but is readily available online and sometimes in garden centres.

Suttons Seeds (a GardenFocused approved supplier) sell Pentland Javelin seed potatoes (and many other varieties) which are not only correctly certified but they are graded by size to avoid unduly small seed potatoes being sold. Click here for more information and to buy Pentland Javelin online. A 1kg bag will contain about 11 good sized seed potatoes.

We recommend buying your seed potatoes from certified suppliers because those sold in supermarkets for consumption can be a source of disease and pest. We would avoid buying them from online general retailers such as as Amazon or E-bay unless you know exactly who is supplying the seed potatoes.

Buying seed potatoes from the discount store can be a good deal but it can also result in a sub-standard crop. The discount stores take the second quality seed potatoes whereas the more specialist suppliers take the best quality. Unfortunately you will only find this out after you have carefully tended your crop for several months.

ALTERNATIVES TO PENTLAND JAVELIN POTATOES

The key qualities of this variety are flavour and their ability to remain in the ground to be harvested when required. On that basis the International Kidney potato must be a good alternative as is Orla.

For other potato varieties which we have fully reviewed, click the drop down box below, select a variety and then click the More Information Button.

The planting and harvest dates used below are correct for the UK average. If you want them to be even more accurate and adjusted for your area of the UK click here. It only takes a minute and the adjustment affects every date in this site and lasts for six months.

WHEN TO CHIT / SPROUT PENTLAND JAVELIN POTATOES

We recommend that you start chitting / sprouting Pentland Javelin potatoes in. the third week of February This will give them four to five weeks to develop healthy sprouts just at the time when they are ready to be planted out. Keep the potatoes in cool but light conditions to ensure they grow short, green sprouts. Click here for our page dedicated to chitting / sprouting potatoes in the UK and Ireland.

WHEN TO PLANT PENTLAND JAVELIN POTATOES

Pentland Javelin potatoes are first earlies potatoes and they are ready for harvest, if conditions are correct, 15 weeks after the seed potatoes are planted. The key factor governing the time for planting all potatoes is the date of the last frost in your area. Even a touch of frost can damage potato plants if their foliage is above ground, an unexpected severe frost can kill them completely.

The date for planting Pentland Javelin potato seed can be calculated on the basis that seed potatoes will take four weeks before they appear above ground. Given also that you want them to appear above ground only when the danger of frost has passed (the last week of April is the UK average ) the last week of Marchis about right time to plant them.

WHEN TO HARVEST PENTLAND JAVELIN POTATOES

The harvest date for all potatoes is not only dependent on when you plant your seed potatoes, it also depends on the weather conditions throughout the growing season. But on average you can expect your potatoes to be ready for harvest some time arount the second week of July in your area of the UK.

PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE OF PENTLAND JAVELLIN POTATO

The table below sets out how good or bad Pentland Javelin potato plants are at resisting common pests and diseases in the UK. The 0 point is average with minus (red) values showing lower than average resistance and plus values (green) showing higher than average resistance.

	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5
Late blight – foliage
Late blight – tubers
Common scab
Powdery scab
Slugs
Potato Cyst Nematode (pallida)
Potato Cyst Nematode (rostochiensis)
Blackleg
Splitting
	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5