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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Potatoes of the World 100s

I shop in a vegetable store here in Avondale Arizona they have a lot of different type potatoes I have never seen. It is very interesting.

Is anyone growing potatoes other than the most common known potatoes in the USA?

Has anyone eaten potatoes from other countries?

My favorite potatoes are Red Pontiac and Russet. Idaho potatoes are ok but russets are better. I have tried Yukon Gold and purple Vitelotte I don't like those. I don't like sweet potatoes either.

Fingerling, Jersey Royal, Désirée, Ratte, all look good, I will try some of these soon.

I tried the Pink Fir Apple potato they are bumpy and hard to peal and they taste a lot like Idaho potatoes to me.

I wonder if all these potatoes in the store are being sold using the correct name of the potato?

I read online potatoes in mountain areas of other countries grow different type potatoes at different elevations because the climate at that elevation is best for the potato that is grown there.

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digitS'
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Location: ID/WA! border

Gary350 wrote:. . . I wonder if all these potatoes in the store are being sold using the correct name of the potato? . . .
Something I was told a few years ago by a U of I professor and potato specialist was that 80% of the potatoes grown in Idaho are Russet Burbank. Idaho has kind of "branded" this potato with its name since it is the leading potato growing state.

My gardens are hundreds of miles from those potato fields in southern Idaho and I didn't grow potatoes for many years - they were just too commonly available.

You have quite a store there in Avondale, Gary. When I finally became aware that there was all those other potato varieties, I came back to growing them again.

When I first tried the Yukon Gold, I was not very happy with it. It was probably mostly that the mashed potatoes looked like they were full of delicious dairy butter, when in fact, that yellow was just the color of the spud! Finally, I learned to like them and have grown them and others for a number of years.

This year, I just went with what I expected to be heavy producers of early potatoes: Yukon Gold & Sangre. The Yukons "turned on me!" I finally weighed the spuds under a couple of typical plants and came up with 1 3/4 pounds. Last year, all the 4 varieties of potatoes that I was growing averaged right near 4# per plant. It was a good thing that I had the Sangre since they produced much, much better than the Yukons this year.

I am still hoping that the local garden centers will carry a late russet besides the Burbank. It just seems strange to grow what is available at a low price in every soopermarket . . .

Steve :?

DoubleDogFarm
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I've tried a few different varieties over the years, but Yukon Gold has become my main crop.

I tried Red LaSoda last year and was very unhappy. Did some research and found it to be a southern variety. Funny they sold seed potato locally.

Sangre, Is my brothers choice for red potato. I think I will give Red Pontiac another try instead.

Oh Yeah! Some of you may have seen this. I almost forgot about. :>
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43399

Eric

mhannum
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Somewhere around here on this forum, there was a person growing potatoes from seed, so who knows what wild and wonderful potatoes he might end up with!

DoubleDogFarm
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mhannum wrote:Somewhere around here on this forum, there was a person growing potatoes from seed, so who knows what wild and wonderful potatoes he might end up with!
-wall- LMFAO

Eric

mhannum
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Okay, okay... I forgot who was growing the potatoes from seeds...

I only visit here now and then anyway, and I'm terrible with names - sorry.

:oops:
Last edited by mhannum on Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

DoubleDogFarm
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No worries, just a little tease. I thought you maybe pulling my leg because the URL link was right above your posting.

Be well
Eric

mhannum
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No problems - I didn't realize you were kidding at first!

:lol:

Long story short, I think it is very cool that you set up that seed potato experiment - great stuff!



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