Potatoes....all those varieties...

[Ridgerunner]

I've tried a few other varieties but had to order them online. I wasn't that impressed with them, frankly, but I have tried blue potatoes and fingerlings. I can get Red Pontiac and Kennebec at a local Mom 'n Pop for 69 cents a pound, no shipping. So let's say I want 5 pounds of each, which is about what I get. That's $6.90 plus tax, say about $7.50 total.

If I order from the Maine Potato Lady, 5 pounds of Kennebec and 5 pounds of Red Pontiac costs a total of $19.25 before shipping. That's with the Kennebec organic and the Red Pontiac not organic because that's the cheapest option. I did not bother to see what shipping would cost. I suspect it's not as cheap as I am. I glanced through the other varieties offered. Most don't offer a non-organic option in these quantities so typical prices might be considered higher. Organic per pound price is substantially higher than non-organic when non-organic is offered.

If I order from Burpee I can't order by the pound. I can order by packs of 10 mini-tubers. Ten mini-tubers of each Kennebec and Red Pontiac total $39.90. If you order 20 mini-tubers of each you get a volume discount, that's only $21.90 each for a total of $63.80. Burpee sometimes offers free shipping. Whether I get the two I grow, fingerlings, or other exotics, the price per 10 mini-tubers is the same.

The way I see it I can get two proven varieties for about $7.50, pick out the tubers I want from the bin, and chat with Carla, Janet, and Jimmy at the local Mom 'n Pop. Or I can pay those kinds of prices for something that may or may not do well here. I don't see it as not being exotic, I see it as being cheap.

 

[hoodat]

If you want to try something new let some of your potatoes go to seed and plant the seeds. They produce a berry that looks like a nightshade berry. The first year the potatoes will be too small to use. You have to plant them and harvest the following year. Many new varieties came about that way. Plant a potato and you get a clone but the seeds vary in their DNA.

 

[digitS']

• Desiree
• Sangre
• Caribe
• Peter Wilcox
• Viking Purple

Between about 1980 and 2000, I grew no potatoes thinking that what I could buy in the store was too cheap to warrant ANY potato taking up space in my garden. Then, I became curious ...

Those above are in the Irish Eyes catalog. Each, I have grown for several years and was able to purchase at the garden center. The exception is Peter Wilcox. I'm pleased that they are all available to me in some fashion.

Desiree has a good name . It's also just a very nice red potato with gold flesh. Sangre is a red with a white, crisp interior. Caribe would be a fine substitute for Sangre. Peter Wilcox had good production the one year I grew it. I did miss a few because Peter Wilcox has gold flesh but is dark purple ... Difficult to see in the soil!

About the best, most consistent producer of all time has been Viking Purple. The garden center fooled me last year by having Viking Red. The "purple" isn't very purple. Maybe they are the same? Nope! There were only like one huge and one small potato under each plant after months in my garden!

All above produced well and there have certainly been some varieties that have not. Viking Purple, Desiree, Caribe, and Sangre have been around for years. If I could just count on the garden center having a couple of these. Just two! And, I would be willing to try one more, something new.

Steve

 

[Carol Dee]

Red Pontiac and Kennebec are our go to potatoes also. I want to try a blue variety but DH turned up his nose and the pointed out how expensive the seed potatoes are in the catalogs for the blue.

 

[thistlebloom]

I have planted all the ones on @digitS' list, except Peter Wilcox.
I like the sound of that one!
Viking Purple (Purple Viking, same potato, just depends on where it's purchased) is a very consistent one, and I like it. It has a beautiful white flesh.
Makes good hash browns too.

I will be potato-less this year, I had scab in my patch last year and need to address that before I plant again. Also deer and gophers for the first time...

 

[Smart Red]

The way I see it I can get two proven varieties for about $7.50, pick out the tubers I want from the bin, and chat with Carla, Janet, and Jimmy at the local Mom 'n Pop. Or I can pay those kinds of prices for something that may or may not do well here. I don't see it as not being exotic, I see it as being cheap.

Frugal! Frugal, not cheap. Being frugal -- it's "a good thing".

 

[thistlebloom]

I admire the frugal gardeners, and getting as much produce as you can for the smallest amount of cash. It's a very commendable garden skill.

But I figure since I rarely go out to eat or to movies, don't take nice vacations, drive a new car, buy many clothes, drink, smoke or buy lottery tickets I am allowed a vice or two.

My vice is playing with different potato varieties and the only way to do that and ensure that catalogs continue to offer these less well known types is to order and grow them. .....


....See how I turned that into a virtue?....

 

[digitS']

I don't think it is a vice. And, I don't think anyone is asking us to deny ourselves every indulgence.

Is going out to dinner at an expensive restaurant a vice? How about stopping for takeout on the way home after a long day at work?

If ours is an empty-nest household, is it okay for us to have a bit of green grass around our home? What about a single person's home?

If we would enjoy wearing a pair of gloves in a current style, would we be more virtuous to wear a tired pair of work gloves on our walk around the neighborhood?

Spud

 

[ninnymary]

I knew I shouldn't have bought those lottery tickets last week. Now I have a vice. Just kidding Thistle. I would have shared with you if I had won!

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

I knew I shouldn't have bought those lottery tickets last week. Now I have a vice. Just kidding Thistle. I would have shared with you if I had won!

Mary

Okay. Hurry up and buy more!

Thistle, Vice Squad