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The Arran Pilot potato variety was bred by Donald Mckelvie OBE on the Isle of Arran and first released in the early 1930s. This renowned potato breeder is so famous that a blue plaque in his memory is still present on the Co-op building in his home town of Lamlash on the Isle of Arran.
It has never been a commercial success in supermarkets because its storage life is two weeks maximum and in fact it tastes best straight out of the ground. For this reason you will hardly ever see it for sale, especially from a supermarket.
The very early cropping of Arran Pilot and its superb taste however, have made it a favourite amongst amateur gardeners.
Arran Pilot Potato
Arran Pilot is one of the earliest First Early varieties. It produces a good crop of slightly irregular shaped potatoes. The skin is light brown and very slightly rough, it's probably best to peel them. They grow well in containers.
The flesh is white, waxy and boils extremely well to be eaten hot or cold with superb taste and texture. It does not roast or chip well at all.
The weakness of Arran Pilot potatoes is their short storage life. They are best cooked and eaten on the day of harvest, certainly a week after harvest their taste begins to deteriorate rapidly.
Disease resistance is not a strong point of Arran Pilot. It is resistant to scab but weak in all other areas including blight. However, blight is unlikely to be a problem because the potatoes are ready for harvest very early in the year and they grow very quickly.
Arran Pilot potatoes should be grown in the normal manner for First Early potatoes. Click here for our detailed page about growing potatoes. The advice applies to growing potatoes in containers as well as in open ground.
The best time to chit / sprout Arran Pilot potatoes is the first week of March in average areas of the UK.
Sprouted Seed Potatoes
Being a First Early variety it is definitely worth chitting / sprouting Arran Pilot potatoes - it will give a more reliable crop although not absolutely necessary. Click here for our advice on how and why to chit / sprout potatoes.
The best time to plant out chitted / sprouted Arran Pilot potatoes is about the first week of April in average areas of the UK.
Planting out on this date will give the chitted / sprouted potatoes about four weeks before they reach the surface of the soil. Whilst they are growing towards the soil surface the sprouts will be protected from frost by the surrounding soil.
By the time they do appear above the soil, the danger of frost will have passed and the sprouts will not be damaged by frost.
As with all vegetables, the time for harvest is dependent on many factors such as the weather conditions while they are growing and the general soil conditions. Arran Pilot produces one of the earliest crops of all potato varieties.
On average however you can expect to start harvesting Arran Pilot potatoes in the third week of June in average areas of the UK.
Using the above date as a guide we would advise that a week before that date you use your hand to search through the soil to harvest one or two potatoes. The term often used for this activity is known in gardening circles as "furtling"!
It does almost no damage to the remaining potatoes but allows you to examine one or two of the potatoes to ensure they are of approximately the correct size. If they are, start harvesting, if not wait for a week or two and try again.
Harvesting Arran Pilot potatoes is best done on the days when you will cook them. They do not store well at all so be sure to read our page on storing potatoes to get the most from your crop of Arran Pilot potatoes.
Obvious alternatives to Arran Pilot are International Kidney and Pentland Javelin. For other second early potatoes we have tested, select one from the drop down list below.
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