Where can I find heirloom potato varieties?
The following excerpt on heirloom potato varieties was taken from chapter 29, “Potatoes.” Buy the brand new e-book of Weaver’s gardening classic in the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Heirloom Vegetable Gardening. To locate mail order companies that carry these heirloom potato varieties, use our Custom Seed and Plant Finder.
What makes a potato an heirloom?
Others define an heirloom as any variety that has been grown without genetic change for at least 100 years. With potatoes, most of the varieties now grown as heirlooms were developed in the late 1800s as a response to the great potato blights of the early 19th century.
Can you cross plant heirloom potatoes?
Potato seed does not produce plants that are true to the parent but, rather a mixture of colors, shapes, and throwbacks to ancestral types. Letting heirloom potatoes cross in the garden and planting seed from them is one enjoyable way to create new potato varieties.
Are rose potatoes heirloom?
This experimentation in the 1850s and 1860s resulted in many of the most popular heirloom potatoes of the nineteenth century. Early Rose stands out as one of the most famous and commercially important. It is still a good potato by any culinary standard, and every time I plant it, I think about its fascinating history.
Are russet potatoes heirloom?
First developed in 1875 by plant breeding genius Luther Burbank, this true American icon is the classic russet that made Idaho potatoes famous! The big, long-oval tubers are heavy for their size with lightly russeted skin, shallow eyes and dry, fluffy white flesh.
What are 4 types of potatoes?
There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States. Each of these varieties fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite.
What is the best tasting potato in the world?
6 Best Rated Potatoes in the WorldLički krumpir. Lika-Senj County. Croatia. shutterstock. ... Idaho Potatoes. Idaho. United States of America. shutterstock. ... Patata Naxou. Naxos. Greece. shutterstock. ... Pataca de Galicia. Galicia. Spain. shutterstock. ... Yukon Gold. Ontario. Canada. ... Patata Kato Nevrokopiou. Kato Nevrokopi Municipality. Greece.
Are there heirloom potato seeds?
Varieties: A nutritional mother lode, potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have full sun, moderate temperatures, and light, rich, acidic, well-drained soil. Try varieties with colors, shapes and flavors you won't find in the supermarket.
What is the most popular variety of potato?
Russet Potatoes Most potatoes grown in the US are of the russet variety, meaning they're what most people picture when you say "potato." With a mildly rough brown-grey skin, the flesh once cooked is light and fluffy and the skin becomes chewy.
Which potatoes are best for chips?
Choosing the right type of potato is important to get a good chip. A starchy potato is best as it has a soft, dry texture, making it good for chips. Look for King Edward, Maris Piper, Romano, Désirée, or russet potatoes. You can use beef fat or good vegetable oil for frying chips.
What is the most expensive potato?
BonnotteBonnotte, the most expensive potato variety in the world, is harvested on the island of Noirmoutier, in the Vendée department in the northwest of the country. Bonnotte has an unmistakable salty taste, due to the water and seaweed that farmers fertilize it with.
What is a US No 1 potato?
1" consists of potatoes which meet the following requirements: (a) Similar varietal characteristics, except when designated as a mixed or specialty pack; (b) Firm; (c) Fairly clean; 2.
Which potato is the healthiest to eat?
Red Desiree PotatoesRed Desiree Potatoes are part of the Red Potato family and are considered to be the healthiest of all potatoes, as they contain the highest levels of vitamins, minerals and healthy phytochemicals.
What is the difference between an heirloom seed and a regular seed?
In terms of growth, there is no difference between an heirloom seed and a regular seed. Heirloom seeds are just seeds of open-pollinated (non-hybrid) plant varieties that have been cultivated for a very long time. However, heirloom varieties tend to have some unique characteristics such as different flavors or colors.
How can you tell if a seed is heirloom?
Heirloom vegetables or seeds refer to any type of seed that has been grown for a number of years (since 1940 or before seems to be the general rule) and passed down from gardener to gardener.
What makes a seed a heirloom?
An heirloom variety of vegetable, fruit, or flower must be open-pollinated—or pollinated by insects, birds, wind, or other natural means—and “breed true,” or retain its original traits from one generation to the next.
What are the 6 types of potatoes?
6 Varieties of Potatoes and How to Use ThemYukon Gold. Easily identified by its smooth, slightly waxy skin, the Yukon gold is one of the most commonly found spud varieties. ... Sweet Potatoes. ... Russet Potatoes. ... Fingerling Potatoes. ... Red Potatoes. ... Adirondack Blue.
How many potato types exist?
There are more than 4,000 varieties of native potatoes, mostly found in the Andes. They come in many sizes and shapes. There are also over 180 wild potato species.
What are all the different types of potatoes?
VitelotteYukon Gold potatoBintjeLaura potatoKing Edward potatoRatte potatoPotato/Lower classifications
What are the names of different potatoes?
Types of PotatoesRusset Potatoes.New Potatoes.Yukon Gold Potatoes.Kennebec Potatoes.All Blue Potatoes.Adirondack Blue Potatoes.Red Bliss Potatoes.German Butterball Potatoes.More items...•
Learn all there is to know about planting seed potatoes, warding off potato pests, gently harvesting your spuds and storing these rare heirloom potato varieties
Learn all there is to know about planting seed potatoes, warding off potato pests, gently harvesting your spuds and storing these rare heirloom potato varieties.
A Brief History of Heirloom Potato Varieties
Growing heirloom potatoes presents special problems for the gardener because the old varieties are not as resistant to disease as modern ones. Furthermore, potato varieties predating the advent of the blight in the 1840s are to be found only in gene banks or in special botanical collections.
How to Prepare Seed Potatoes
Potatoes are generally divided into early, midseason, and late varieties. Historically, many households planted one of each in order to keep potatoes in crop over a long period. I raise sixteen varieties of heirloom potatoes and mostly ignore their seasonality because I have more than enough potatoes for my own needs all the time.
Planting Seed Potatoes
I dig deep trenches, perhaps 14 inches deep, in rows 32 inches apart. The cuttings are planted about 13 inches apart, even for small varieties. If the variety produces many tubers, then space the cuttings 16 inches apart. Crowding only reduces harvest yields. Early varieties are planted in March in my part of the country.
Common Potato Diseases
The most universal problem is scab. Scab is a barklike growth on the skin of potatoes caused by fungus. It does not poison the potatoes and can be removed from eating potatoes simply by paring it away with the skin. But it remains in the ground at least three years and will infect other root vegetables such as carrots and beets.
Harvesting Potatoes
Harvesting potatoes is backbreaking work. I know of one seed saver who digs several tons of heirloom potatoes with her bare hands so that the potatoes will not be damaged. She receives top-of-the-line prices for her picture-perfect tubers, but her hands look like driftwood. I use a pitchfork, wear gloves, and dig gently.
Potato Pests: Colorado Potato Beetles, Wire Worms and More
As an experiment, one year I left Conestoga in the ground until the middle of September, almost two months after it was ready to harvest. This had no effect on the quality of the potato, which happens to be a small white variety with pink eyes. But some of the tubers were attacked by nematodes, wire worms, and other boring insects.
Heirloom Potatoes and Ash-Leaved Early Variety
Stem nearly two feet in height, erect, with long, smooth, shining, and drooping foliage; flowers very seldom produced; tubers white, roundish, rough-skinned; flesh white, of medium quality. The potato variety is healthy, and remarkably early; well suited to open culture, but not adapted for growing under glass on account of its tall habit.
Heirloom Potatoes and Ash-Leaved Kidney Variety
One of the earliest of the garden potato varieties, well adapted for forcing under glass or for starting in a hot-bed, and subsequent cultivation in the open ground. The plant is of spreading habit, and about eighteen inches in height; leaves small; tubers of medium size, kidney-shaped, white; flesh white, dry, and well flavored. Very healthy.
Heirloom Potatoes and Biscuit Variety
Plant two and a half feet high, spreading; leaves rather rough, large, and of a pale-green color; flowers whitish; tubers rather small, round, smooth, and of a light-brownish color. A very healthy potato variety, mealy, well flavored, and quite productive.
Heirloom Potatoes and Black Chenango Variety
Plant vigorous, and generally of healthy habit; tubers nearly of the form of the Lady's Finger potato , but of larger size; skin very deep purple, or nearly black; flesh purple, both in its crude state and when cooked; quality good, usually dry, and of good flavor.
Heirloom Potatoes and Buckeye Variety
A Western potato variety; grown also to a considerable extent in some parts of the Middle States. "It is a handsome, round potato; white throughout, except a little bright pink at the bottom of the eye.
Heirloom Potatoes and Calico Variety
Similar to the Pink-eyed potato ; varying little except in color, which is mostly red, with occasional spots and splashes of white. It is in no respect superior to the last-named variety in quality, and cannot be considered of much value for agricultural purposes or for the table.
Heirloom Potatoes and California Red Variety
A bright-red potato from California. Tubers variable in form, from long to nearly round, rather smooth; eyes slightly depressed.
A Brief History of Heirloom Potato Varieties
Above: Several varieties of heirloom potatoes. On the left, Conestoga. The three large rose-colored potatoes: Bliss’ Triumph. The pale pink potatoes: Garnet Chile. The long, narrow potatoes are Austrian Kipfelkrumpl.
How to Prepare Seed Potatoes
Potatoes are generally divided into early, midseason, and late varieties. Historically, many households planted one of each in order to keep potatoes in crop over a long period. I raise sixteen varieties of heirloom potatoes and mostly ignore their seasonality because I have more than enough potatoes for my own needs all the time.
Planting Seed Potatoes
I dig deep trenches, perhaps 14 inches deep, in rows 32 inches apart. The cuttings are planted about 13 inches apart, even for small varieties. If the variety produces many tubers, then space the cuttings 16 inches apart. Crowding only reduces harvest yields. Early varieties are planted in March in my part of the country.
Common Potato Diseases
The most universal problem is scab. Scab is a barklike growth on the skin of potatoes caused by fungus. It does not poison the potatoes and can be removed from eating potatoes simply by paring it away with the skin. But it remains in the ground at least three years and will infect other root vegetables such as carrots and beets.
Harvesting Potatoes
Harvesting potatoes is backbreaking work. I know of one seed saver who digs several tons of heirloom potatoes with her bare hands so that the potatoes will not be damaged. She receives top-of-the-line prices for her picture-perfect tubers, but her hands look like driftwood. I use a pitchfork, wear gloves, and dig gently.
Preparation
Place potatoes in large pot. Pour enough cold water over to cover; salt generously. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 20 to 40 minutes (depending on variety). Drain. Return potatoes to pot. Using large wooden spoon, coarsely crush potatoes in pot. Add cheese, nuts, and oil. Stir in arugula and toss to blend.
Step 1
Place potatoes in large pot. Pour enough cold water over to cover; salt generously. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 20 to 40 minutes (depending on variety). Drain. Return potatoes to pot. Using large wooden spoon, coarsely crush potatoes in pot. Add cheese, nuts, and oil. Stir in arugula and toss to blend.
