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Bred in Warfhuizen, Netherlands, Estima first became commercially available in 1972. Adopted by British growers as a firm favourite in the late 1970s and still popular in supermarkets in the 2020s.
Estima Potatoes
Estima is an early Maincrop / late Second Early potato variety depending on the conditions in which it is grown. This is an excellent looking potato with light brown skin, only a few shallow eyes and light yellow flesh. They are oval shaped and of an even size.
Supermarkets have adopted this variety and market it as a general purpose potato. Its taste is mild and the texture is floury. It cooks well as mashed potato and boiled and is very acceptable as a roast potato.
Estima potatoes have slightly below average disease resistance and can suffer from dry rot, blight, powdery scab, common scab, slugs and some forms of eelworm. The plants are of average size and do not suffer when grown in windy conditions. Resistance to blight is average and resistance to scab is better than average.
Estima potatoes should be grown in the normal manner for Maincrop potatoes. Click here for our detailed page about growing potatoes. We wouldn't advise growing them in containers.
Early Maincrop potatoes like Estima benefit slightly from chitting. If you do want to chit this variety, the best time is the first week of March in average areas of the UK. Comprehensive details about how to chit potatoes can be found here.
Sprouted Seed Potatoes
The best time to plant out Estima potatoes is about the first week of April in average areas of the UK.
Planting out on this date will give the seed potatoes about six 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. Comprehensive details about how to plant out potatoes can be found here.
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.
On average however you can expect to start harvesting Estima slightly earlier than most Maincrop potatoes in mid August 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 one or two weeks and try again.
Estima flower
Harvesting Estima potatoes can be spread over three to four weeks and they can be stored successfully for a couple of months in the correct conditions. Comprehensive details about how to harvest and store potatoes can be found here.
For other maincrop potatoes we have tested select one from the drop down list below.
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