Tonight I ran across an interesting post on another social media platform. It was about Potato Seed… Not Seed Potatoes. (is it potatoes or potatos, where is Dan Quayle when you need him).
Anyway, the post is interesting. Below is the post followed by 2 websites that discuss potato seed.
The second website is very in depth, a wealth of detailed information on this subject.
Creating New Varieties of Potatoes
If you are a potato grower, have you ever noticed the little green fruits that develop from their flowers?They look like little tomatoes.
If you allow those fruits to ripen until they turn a yellowish green and become soft, you can cut the fruit in half and squeeze out the juice along with the approximately 100 seeds that hide within. Wash the seeds and dry them on a glass plate or coffee filter. Each of those seeds represent a brand new variety of potato.
I have been told that Russell Burbank did that once upon a time, and one of his seeds became our famous and productive Russet variety.
This is a really interesting process. I have done it twice now, and out of 100’s of seedlings, I have found three varieties I really like.
Years ago, when I was teaching seminars, I would ask people to save their potato seeds. I had three individuals who took me seriously. They gave me a nice mix of seed from red, white, and purple potato varieties. The next season I grew out a mix of around 150 seedlings.
You should care for them just like you would a tomato seedling. I plant them out on my beds after the danger of frost has past. I put them on a grid of about 15”x15”. Just amend and water them just like any other potatoes you are growing.
Now, the great thing about this experiment is that you get to eat what you decide not to save, which will be the majority. Each time, though, I have had a new variety pop up that was special to me.
The first time, I had three distinct purple varieties. One was light lavender. Another a light purple. The third variety, the one I chose to pursue, was extremely dark purple inside and out. Dark purple potatoes have a lot of antioxidants.
The second one I found was a medium-sized yellow skinned potato with pretty pink eyes that was very productive.
Last year, I did my second planting. Out of around 100 seedlings, I found a really remarkable variety that is pink with a russet skin and white inside. But the amazing thing was that this plant gave me around 8 lbs of potatoes! These seedlings generally don’t give big yields the first year. You are more or less looking for something interesting.
I can’t wait to plant that 8 lbs of seed and see what it does this year!
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What Is True Potato Seed: Learn About Potato Seed Growing
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/potato/true-potato-seed-growing.htm
True Potato Seeds (TPS)
https://www.cultivariable.com/instructions/potatoes/how-to-grow-true-potato-seeds-tps/
Anyway, the post is interesting. Below is the post followed by 2 websites that discuss potato seed.
The second website is very in depth, a wealth of detailed information on this subject.
Creating New Varieties of Potatoes
If you are a potato grower, have you ever noticed the little green fruits that develop from their flowers?They look like little tomatoes.
If you allow those fruits to ripen until they turn a yellowish green and become soft, you can cut the fruit in half and squeeze out the juice along with the approximately 100 seeds that hide within. Wash the seeds and dry them on a glass plate or coffee filter. Each of those seeds represent a brand new variety of potato.
I have been told that Russell Burbank did that once upon a time, and one of his seeds became our famous and productive Russet variety.
This is a really interesting process. I have done it twice now, and out of 100’s of seedlings, I have found three varieties I really like.
Years ago, when I was teaching seminars, I would ask people to save their potato seeds. I had three individuals who took me seriously. They gave me a nice mix of seed from red, white, and purple potato varieties. The next season I grew out a mix of around 150 seedlings.
You should care for them just like you would a tomato seedling. I plant them out on my beds after the danger of frost has past. I put them on a grid of about 15”x15”. Just amend and water them just like any other potatoes you are growing.
Now, the great thing about this experiment is that you get to eat what you decide not to save, which will be the majority. Each time, though, I have had a new variety pop up that was special to me.
The first time, I had three distinct purple varieties. One was light lavender. Another a light purple. The third variety, the one I chose to pursue, was extremely dark purple inside and out. Dark purple potatoes have a lot of antioxidants.
The second one I found was a medium-sized yellow skinned potato with pretty pink eyes that was very productive.
Last year, I did my second planting. Out of around 100 seedlings, I found a really remarkable variety that is pink with a russet skin and white inside. But the amazing thing was that this plant gave me around 8 lbs of potatoes! These seedlings generally don’t give big yields the first year. You are more or less looking for something interesting.
I can’t wait to plant that 8 lbs of seed and see what it does this year!
--------------------------------------------------------
What Is True Potato Seed: Learn About Potato Seed Growing
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/potato/true-potato-seed-growing.htm
True Potato Seeds (TPS)
https://www.cultivariable.com/instructions/potatoes/how-to-grow-true-potato-seeds-tps/
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