Organic Farmer Network: Network Discussion Summary

Topic: Potatoes

Favorite potatoes:

Cathy – Caribe are best tasting and the best producers and favorites of customers/chefs are Carola, Rose Gold, Cranberry Red.

Charlie - Caribe and Yukon Gold

Rosie: “ I missed the ordering deadline for sending potatoes South from Johnnies and I have not found a local source of even a few seed potatoes. However, I think I subconsciously avoided ordering on time so that I would not have to plant them this year. Potatoes for us is usually a losing proposition. The seed potatoes and shipping costs are high and we cannot get an large enough return for them at the farmer's market. I have grown them in the past for the CSA, everyone likes them so it is one of those no brainer choices. However, I will admit that because we have to dig them in May when the temp. is about 90 with 95% humidity- they are my least favorite crop to harvest. We hand dig them and between the fireants and diseases (at times) we sometimes do not get the best of yields.”

Ken give potato source: “if you have been buying seed potatoes from Johnnie's, you might want to check out Wood Prairie Farm. If I am not mistaken they are the supplier for Johnnie's potatoes. You can order direct from Jim and Megen Gerritson at Wood Prairie. Their prices are a lot less and you could still get some to plant this year!! Check them out at www.woodprairie.com or call 1-800-829-9765.

You might also want to consider plowing them out. We plant in double rows 32 inches apart, cultivate them with an old 2 row rolling cultivator I bought at a sale for $35 and plow them out with a potato plow.”

Cathy gives potatoes sources too and asks about Ken’s hilling technique: “I would like to ditto Ken's recommendation for Wood Prairie Farm for seed potatoes. Jim is extremely involved in "organic issues" and MOFGA, and the old OCIA politics. He is a phenomenal source of info and doesn't mind spending time talking taters or certification issues. I would recommend giving their product a look. Two other sources we know about (we still buy just from WPF)- Skylandia Organic Farm (1-800-743-7783, email- jskyland@ncil.net) and Ronnigers is back in business, they reportedly sold their name to another Washington state farm, but apparently they got it back (www.ronnigers.com). One caution on Ronnigers, they are certified organic but I don't think their seed is ‘certified disease-free’. Also we have found that shipping from Maine (WPF) is better when there are cold-weather-on route issues. It's hard to get your seed potatoes at the time you want them from across the country. We always want our taters mid-Feb, because we greensprout them to get them off to a good start.

Ken…I want to hear more about your double row planting of taters, how do you hill them? We do a single row per bed, beds are 6' on center. Do you have any problems with the taters greening? I would be afraid that I wouldn't be able to hill them enough.

One more thought on potatoes- Rosie, have you ever done a fall crop? Do people ever do that down there? I have tried a number of time with no success. Because potatoes are a cool weather crop seems like they would like to grow in your late fall/winter season. The temps would sure be more agreeable for harvesting. The real problem for you would then be finding a source at that time of year. Jim at WPF has held my fall order as long as he can, but they are emptying their warehouses by June(???). It would be hard to get them all the way to Fla. without them breaking dormancy so you could then store them in a cooler at 40degrees.”

Ken explains double rows: “my tractor wheels are set at 64 in center to center. I plant potatoes in a double row 30 inches apart to be straddles by the tractor. I do one or 2 cultivations using a 2 row rolling cultivator. Each pass throws a little dirt toward the row and can be adjusted to throw more or less. A final hilling ( called by the old folks "laying by") is done with a 2 row rigid shank cultivator with all shanks removed except 3 - 2 to run in the wheel tracks, one in the middle of the double row under the tractor. On these 3 shanks I put a small version of what we call a "middle buster" - it throws a lot of dirt toward the rows of taters and leaves them sufficiently hilled. Last year I did the 2 early cultivations and failed to do the final hilling until the vines had gotten too big and fallen over to do so and I had a lot of green potatoes.”

Charlie talks about his potato planting and asks about fingerlings: “I plant about 300 lbs of Yukon Golds, Red Pontiacs, and Kennebecs mostly for new crop, small "creamer" potatoes. I distribute these in quarts to my CSA subscribers, and they love them. I have found that mulching with straw really helps control Colorado Potato Beetles and keeps the soil cooler. It is a challenge to straw mulch that many potatoes, so this year I hope to get more of my CSA "work shares" to help out. I am intrigued by the idea of double row planting, but wonder how this works with hilling. I find hilling several times to be essential to get a good crop. I am going to experiment this year with some fingerlings. Have any of you had any experience with these? How much more are they worth?”

Cathy on fingerling potatoes: “I have to confess that we do grow them. I always plant just a couple of rows of Russian Banana Fingerlings (Wood Prairie Farm) because we have a couple of chefs that really like them. After the chefs get what they want I'll take the remainder to market and they are usually gone that day. I know they are worth a lot more than what Michael lets me sell them for ($2.80 / lb) When customers ask why we don't have them anymore I explain that it takes the same amount of time to pick up a fingerling as it does a large 1/2 lb tater ( figure 1 oz fingerling = 18 cents vs 1/2# = 80-90 cents) We have tried two other varieties- Rose Finn and Swedish Peanut- but I liked the Russian Banana the best, smoother skin and better yield. … Try them once or twice and develop your own attitude about them. But please do not sell them for less than $3 a pound!!!”