Too Many Choices

While on the subject of potatoes I thought I would go back and take a look at all that is offered from Moose Tubers/Fedco. There are a million and one choices, it is all so overwhelming! I have a great opportunity to order these potatoes at a discount, with out shipping charges through my local NOFA (North East Organic Farming Association) office.

After digging my first Yukon Gold this summer I knew I wanted to up the potato ante next year. They are after all one of those foods I hate eating when not organically grown, and organic potatoes are not readily available in the major grocers around here. So, after hours of reading about starch content, maturity dates, disease resistance and color I have narrowed it down to the following:

2.5 #'s Caribe (very early)

• good mashed or baked
• purple skin, white flesh
• high yield, good storage
• resistant to scab and storage rot

5 #'s Yukon Gold (very early)

• yellow-buff skin, yellow flesh
• dry, mealy
• low yield, excellent storage
• my favorite potato!

2.5 #'s Cheiftan (early)

• bright red skin, white flesh
• good flavor with excellent culinary qualities
• moist, firm
• resistant to late blight, scab, stem end browning, and net necrosis
• high yield, fair storage

2.5 #'s Huckleberry (mid)

• good for roasting, boiling or steaming
• beet-red skin, mottled red and white flesh
• moist, firm
• high yield, good storage

2.5 #'s Kennebec (mid)

• all purpose potato
• buff skin, white flesh
• high yield, excellent storage
• known for it's most excellent fries
• susceptible to rizoctonia (a.k.a. black scurf) and verticulum. This could be a problem.

5 #'s Red Pontiac* (late/storage)

• good mashed or boiled, no baking
• prone to scab
• do well in heavy soils or cage/box growing
• dark red skin, white sweet flesh
• high yield, excellent storage
• require close planting

* Or Red Cloud which I grew this year and described in the previous post.

Here it is in black and white where I can not lose it or forget all that I have read. Ten pounds of early, five pounds of mid, and five pounds late. Boy, that is a lot of potatoes!