those golden spuds ain't gold

[digitS']

Not in my garden, anyway ...

I gave up growing Yukon Gold a couple of years ago. It was likely the least productive variety I have ever grown. Still, it's a good tasting potato and DW's favorite.

Daisy Gold replaced it last year. I was disappointed in this "lunker." I didn't really want to grow huge spuds but there were no big 'uns, at all.

The plants were huge and production wasn't terrible. This year, I've just dug the first 2 plants. If they are an indication, production will be terrible. #1/plant ..! And, small spuds again! I gave them extra room because I thought that they must have been too crowded in 2014. This is worse than last year and probably worse than Yukon Gold!

I don't have to have the most productive potato patch around but they have to do better than 1#/plant. Shoot.

What variety do you think I should try? DW does like the YG so I suppose they should have that waxy texture and not just the color. Yukon Gold isn't known for low production. These gold potatoes aren't living up to their standards. I don't think they like my garden .

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Steve, the way I understood it, YK aren't high producers.
Have you ever grown Bintje? It's been a good sized spud for me, and on the higher end of productive. Another really good thing it has going for it is it's great storage time. Mine last clear into spring.

Another one that is really productive is Maris Piper, but the potatoes I get off it are only medium size. More than likely they'd get bigger if I didn't crowd them so much.

I'm not anticipating a great harvest this year. With the early heat and the deer defoliating my plants they are a pretty sad looking bunch. I'll probably dig them Saturday. More than a month before my usual time.

 

[digitS']

Two I know next to nothing about, Thistle'.

Bintje has a page in Wikipedia ..! Sounds about right. I like that it is popular elsewhere in the world. Wikipedia mentions scab. I know it's a problem for the potatoes in my garden. Has Bintje had problems with that, for you?

Odd little aside: I've never seen a potato bug where I grow my 100sqft of spuds. I think it reflects the near absence of nightshade weeds.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

No scab or other problems on the Bintje so far (knock on head). It's not as striking to me as the Purple Viking, but it sure pulls it's weight in the kitchen.
Maris Piper will always have a place in my garden too because it is so prolific under
the plant. When you pull it up it seems like there is almost no end to the tubers you just keep finding. It's a fun one to harvest.

 

[digitS']

I will have to explore this scab thing a little. For my spuds, there is no avoiding it. The problem either amounts to almost nothing or it kinda chews into that skin. This may be a low-scab year.

About my Viking rather than Purple Viking ... they are not the same variety. I did some more reading after they were dug. Viking is a red and a nice one but not nearly as productive as Purple Viking has been. That is, if this season is an indication and 6 plants make a good trial. I believe that they averaged about 2.5#/plant.

Maybe I will grow Viking again. I don't intend to fill my little bed just with the purples, anyway.

Steve

 

[bills]

Do you dump ashes in your compost, and then add it to your garden? That can cause scab on spuds.

I had a good crop of red pontiac's, back about a month ago. Love them when they are harvested as new potato's.

 

[digitS']

Bill, I have and have had all these different garden locations. Soooo, I've never had a soil test.

Cooperative Extension has told me that our soil hereabouts has a good amount of K. This was after I tried ashes on half an onion bed. The poor performance of the ones with ash convinced me to leave the ash out of the garden. But, I didn't know of a scab and ash association.

The scab-resistant varieties come through with no problems but one knows it's there on vulnerable varieties.

Steve

 

[PhilaGardener]

a scab and ash association.

Common scab is caused by a soil bacterium that does best in alkaline soils, so it is raising the pH that causes trouble. Some degree of control is possible by acidification, although that isn't a perfect answer. http://www.potatodiseases.org/scab.html