I got the potato seed this year from Jacobsens Greenhouse - You can find them on Facebook too. They are local here in the Valley, and have been in business here for many, many years (since 1979) and Hubby's mom worked for them for years before she passed.
I took pictures of the signs at Jacobsens when I chose the potatoes and then we laminated them at the school to use as the garden signs for identifying the varieties in ground. It worked great! Of course it was a VERY HOT and dry summer so it might not work as well in a really wet summer - but this time it did!
I took pictures of the signs at Jacobsens when I chose the potatoes and then we laminated them at the school to use as the garden signs for identifying the varieties in ground. It worked great! Of course it was a VERY HOT and dry summer so it might not work as well in a really wet summer - but this time it did!
Our four varieties were:
Magic Myrna - I have grown this purple fingerling type potato before and very much liked them. Developed in Palmer Alaska! Easy grow and great flavor. Not so purple that it makes things weird when you cook them either! Baked, mashed or fried they are great - very smooth.
Purple Viking - Beautiful purple potato with white insides! Smooth and tasty, this spud is medium sized and great for cooking. Mashed, fried, baked or even chips! It makes a very cool chip!
Above are Purple Viking and Yellow Finn with a few of the Daisy Gold mixed in.
Daisy Gold- This spud has great flavor and size, and as we grew this one in a bit shadier a spot they produced pretty well also. About 6-8 large potatoes per seed. Great baker and masher, its really smooth and creamy.
Yellow Finn- This potato also has great flavor and texture - as you can see from the review written on the back of the label picture below - it is not a high producer and has really thin skin. It is a great masher as it does not have to be peeled even and made really good french fries as well!
We will probably grow all of these again if they are available. I want to see how they do in a non-drought year and see if it makes a difference to production. We will also try to get some "Yukon Gold" potatoes to grow as they are a favorite of almost everyone who tries them.
I wrote on the back of the signs that we used to identify the flavors (I only had one done when this picture was taken). It helps during buying time to remember which ones we liked and what the best qualities were. We don't have as much growing space here or at the school as I would like to grow tons of potatoes, but we get to grow enough to feed us a bit and at the school so that the kids have a taste of a few varieties and how to grow, care for, dig, prepare and cook them!
There are tons of great potato varieties, and I encourage you to find a favorite and grow it yearly, but also to try new varieties that you or your kids might like! The apparent consensus at the school was that they like them all!
Happy Spud Shopping! Blessed BE!
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