I have put together descriptions for some of the varieties that are available for variety trialing this year. I gleaned the descriptions from our own observations, Seed Savers Exchange yearbooks, and online searches. In some cases there was not much to be learned! Some descriptions are from a single grower in a single year, so they may not be representative. If you have more information for any of these varieties, please share it with us, along with your source (personal observation, other farmers/gardeners, books or online sources). By participating in variety trials you will be helping to make these descriptions more detailed and useful for everyone!

Descriptions and availability of varieties for 2013

Take a look, and let me know what varieties or market classes you are interested in. As a general rule, assume you’ll need 10 row feet for each variety, plus 10 row feet for a check variety. If you want to grow varieties from different market classes, you might want to have a check variety for each market class.

A couple of things to note:

1. Tubers are available as mini-tubers, single-drop tubers or one-cut tubers.

 Tuber availability is listed as the number of farms we can supply with enough tubers for a plot of 10 plants.

Mini-tubers are greenhouse-grown tubers from disease-free tissue culture plants. They are smaller than a field-grown tuber, but will produce normal sized tubers. However, minitubers should be planted more shallowly than regular seed pieces. The plants may be smaller initially, and may not compete well with weeds. Minitubers may not be suitable for farmers who use large-scale mechanical weeding operations. They do well under straw.

Our single-drop tubers were produced on certified organic land, from disease-free minitubers. These tubers are small enough that they need not be cut before planting.

Our one-cut tubers were produced on certified organic land, from disease-free minitubers. These tubers should be cut into two pieces before planting, and allowed to heal for at least 24 hours (preferably 48 hours).

2. We will provide “check” varieties along with “trial” varieties.

Having a check variety at each location will help us to compare trial varieties between locations. The mini-tuber check variety will be Red La Soda, a productive, tasty red with deep eyes. For the single-drop and one-cut tubers, we will provide Red Norland as the check variety. We may purchase certified seed for other varieties such as Satina (yellow), Langlade (white), French Fingerling (red fingerling), and Austrian Crescent (yellow fingerling) as checks for those market classes.

 Despite the new blanket of snow, we are moving on with spring planning – so please do get in touch about your variety preferences!

 

 

 

 

 

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