What potatoes have you grown? What is your weather & geographical location?

[gary350]

I am considering growing Red Norland potatoes this year. I wonder if they are hot weather plant?

White potatoes don't grow well here. I am looking for a potato that tastes like a white potatoes but grows like a red potato? I can grow Red Pontiac easy but we don't like their flavor. We like white potatoes but I'm having trouble growing an excellent crop of white potatoes. I can grow 100 lbs of white new potatoes from 100 plants but when we lived up north I could grow 100 lbs of white new potatoes from 20 plant.

We live in Tennessee, USA 30 south of Nashville zip 37129. Our last frost is April 20 and first frost Nov 5. We have rain 6 days a week Jan to April then NO rain and 100°f temperatures June to Oct. Garden is desert all summer. Soaker hose planted next to seed potatoes works miracles. White potatoes do not grow well here but Red potatoes do because red Pontiac are hot weather potatoes. I can plant 25 Red Pontic seed potatoes 2" deep return 4 months later and dig up 100 lbs of new potatoes, I want to do this with white potatoes.?????

A 1 eye Red Pontiac seed potato cutting will grow 4 lbs of new potatoes from each plant but white potatoes only grow 3/4 to 1 lb of new potatoes per plant in our hot dry 100° summer weather.

We love Kennebec potatoes but they don't grow well here. We need a white potatoes that grows great in the desert.

 

[YumYum]

My neighbor used to grow Cobbler potatoes, & Kennebecs. He is long gone but it seems like he had alot more Cobblers than Kennebecs now that I think about it but seems like the Cobblers where smaller. I just started with Kennebecs and have never grown another type of potato so I can't really say from experience, just from memory which is a bit fuzzy. I do remember he said he would rather have the Cobblers over the Kennebecs but he always grew both types.

 

[Meadowlark]

You might be interested in the results of my upcoming potato experiment which will include several different white, yellow, and red varieties.

I've grown a lot of potatoes over the years (generally well in excess of 200 pounds harvested annually with an average of at least 10 pounds of new potatoes per 1 pound of seed potato) but never rigorously compared production of different varieties in a controlled setting. That's what my upcoming experiment is all about.

I'll be comparing about 14 different varieties (depending on seed availability) to each other and comparing HK container grown and in ground grown. My intent is to use about 1 pound of seed potato (again depending on availability) for each type and each application and measure/record the weights of harvest. Subjective measures of taste and quality will also be applied.

I'll be planting in late Jan. and/or early Feb. and harvesting late May to early June.

Type	HK pro/seed weight	In ground pro/seed weight	Pro ratio	Taste	Quality
Sarpo Mira
Huckelberry Gold
Elba
Baltic Rose
Caribe
Kennebec
Russett
Yukon Gold
German BB
Charlotte
Rose gold
Dark Red Norland
Prairie Bush
Red Pontiac

 

[gary350]

You might be interested in the results of my upcoming potato experiment which will include several different white, yellow, and red varieties.

I've grown a lot of potatoes over the years (generally well in excess of 200 pounds harvested annually with an average of at least 10 pounds of new potatoes per 1 pound of seed potato) but never rigorously compared production of different varieties in a controlled setting. That's what my upcoming experiment is all about.

I'll be comparing about 14 different varieties (depending on seed availability) to each other and comparing HK container grown and in ground grown. My intent is to use about 1 pound of seed potato (again depending on availability) for each type and each application and measure/record the weights of harvest. Subjective measures of taste and quality will also be applied.

I'll be planting in late Jan. and/or early Feb. and harvesting late May to early June.

Type	HK pro/seed weight	In ground pro/seed weight	Pro ratio	Taste	Quality
Sarpo Mira
Huckelberry Gold
Elba
Baltic Rose
Caribe
Kennebec
Russett
Yukon Gold
German BB
Charlotte
Rose gold
Dark Red Norland
Prairie Bush
Red Pontiac

I compare plants because 1 seed potatoes can have, 2 to 7 eyes.

1. I have learned 1 cutting with 1 eye will grow 1 lb of new large size potatoes.
2. 1 cutting with 2 eyes acts like 1 plant it also grows 1 lb of new medium size potatoes.
3. 1 cutting with 3 eyes acts like 1 plant it also grows 1 lb of new small size potatoes.
I think root growth is the limiting factor here that is why they all grow 1 lb of new potatoes. Even if I plant 2 cuttings with 1 eye each side by side the 2 plants grow 1 lb of new potatoes.

I save money on seed potatoes planting 1 eye cutting, this gives me 3 times more potato plants, by not plants 2 or 3 eye cuttings.

Red Pontic potatoes out produce, white potatoes, Russet & Kennebec potatoes 4 to 1.

No other seed potatoes are available in our area. I have excellent luck growing grocery store potatoes. This year I will test, German butter ball, generic yellow, Yukon gold, generic red, potatoes.

I want to grow Red Norland potatoes if I can find some?

I have also learned, sense my white potato plants will not produce more than 1 lb of new white potato per plant I can plant cuttings 5" apart and get 2 times more plants in the same row, this doubles my harvest.

Red Pontiac potatoes are so easy to grow I don't need to try, plant 1 eye cuttings, return 4 months later dig up 100 lbs of new potatoes from 25 plants. I am hoping Red Norland will grow like Red Pontic but taste like a white potatos.

Our weather is 100°f and dry as desert June to Oct. Potato plants don't like our weather.

I have also learned not to plant potatoes 1 month before last frost, potatoes just set there waiting for warm weather to grow. Some of the seed potatoes rot in the cold wet soil. I plant potatoes when soil warms up to 65°f plants are up in 7 days Harvest is much better with no lost plants.

I would love to grow all those potatoes you listed.

 

[YumYum]

If you are looking for seeds only online then chances are you are missing out. Take for example the Cobbler potatoes I described above. Knoxville seed was the only place you could find those seed potatoes in my area years ago. If you look their website you would think it was a hole in the wall, but it is anything but. They are basically a hub for local hardware stores around here that sell seeds and they also sell seeds to the public and they have a ton of varieties. It is actually one of the best places to get seeds around here but their website has always sucked so you don't know what they carry or have in stock.

When coronavirus hit, it was impossible to get seed potatoes. There just wasn't any seed potatoes for sale. Last year was a decent year to get seed potatoes but I noticed it was only a couple varieties. Maybe this year it will improve a bit more.

 

[gary350]

If you are looking for seeds only online then chances are you are missing out. Take for example the Cobbler potatoes I described above. Knoxville seed was the only place you could find those seed potatoes in my area years ago. If you look their website you would think it was a hole in the wall, but it is anything but. They are basically a hub for local hardware stores around here that sell seeds and they also sell seeds to the public and they have a ton of varieties. It is actually one of the best places to get seeds around here but their website has always sucked so you don't know what they carry or have in stock.

When coronavirus hit, it was impossible to get seed potatoes. There just wasn't any seed potatoes for sale. Last year was a decent year to get seed potatoes but I noticed it was only a couple varieties. Maybe this year it will improve a bit more.

Our Amish garden store only sells 3 types of potatoes and Farmers Co-op only sells Kennebec. Our grocery stores have a better potato selection than our garden stores. I might try cobbler if I knew more about it. I want to try Red Noland. I am 30 miles south of Nashville TN.

Garden books are crazy expensive, $15 + $12 postage for 3 lbs of seed potatoes. $27 no way. Grocery store potatoes are $3 for 5 lbs.