Potato berries and TPS (true potato seed)

[travis]

I think the final bleach bath in your process is handling disease control on the exterior of the seed coat same as or better than fermentation.

The problem I'd see with TSP for you would be disposal of the amounts of phosphate you would generate considering the amount of seeds you're processing.

[Wi-sunflower]

The problem I'd see with TSP for you would be disposal of the amounts of phosphate you would generate.

Yup, plus from what I've read, TSP can be a bit of a bugger to work with too.

Maybe just the bleach isn't as good as what Tom needs because of him wanting to "prove" himself to the potato community, but for me, so far it has worked OK.

[Medbury Gardens]

These TPS grown (Mystery) potatoes are growing an amazing amount of suckers that the tubular grown ones are not,I find this odd but also interesting.Has anyone else had TPS do this also,hopefully Tom Wagner can answer this but he appears to have disappeared.

[Tom Wagner]

Hello, I am back again for one of my notorious Here Again, Gone Again.


The mystery TPS seedling showing the multiple stolons is not terribly unusual, and it likely shows some genetic throwback to the wild species which do this quite often, especially if they grow like they are out of their natural habitat - day length, temperature regimes, etc. Normally I don't select those clones unless I am looking for high tuber set progenies.

The phosphate problem with TSP (Tri-sodium phosphate) are to disposal should not be of much concern. The very small use of this product to clean seed is rather insignificant compared to the nitrogen/phosphate levels of lawn fertilizer.

Proper precautions as to the safe use of TSP should not disallow for its beneficial use. The tandem cleansing act is not easily duplicated with any other combination of products.

As I am a stickler to providing clean virus free potatoes due to the potato industry's plant police tactics regarding planting disease free potatoes, I don't think I should apologize for offering a preparation technique for supplying clean potato seed as in TPS.

When you consider the many thousands of people saving their own tomato seed and the relative lax control of seed born diseases as a result, and the very few true potato seed savers, I think a distinction should be made for some conscientious attempt to control viral disease and dissemination.

Tom Wagner

[Wi-sunflower]

Tom,

I shouldn't have posted my method here in this thread. What I do isn't meant for Potatoes at all. I totally understand your reason for doing it the way you do too. I'm sorry I sidetracked things a bit.

Nearly 20 years ago when I first started saving Pepper seed, I got flack from that industry too. Even the school Profs would tell people at conferences that you shouldn't save seed as you can spread disease.

Well 1 year I had my local Asgrow rep drop in to see if I needed anything. I just happened to have a nearly full greenhouse of pepper seedlings at the time. Most were from my own saved seeds. We looked around at everything and sure enough we DID see just a little bit of Bacterial Speck on a few flats. But guess what. ALL the disease was on plants from PURCHASED bell pepper seed. Tho not seed from his company, it shut up that rep pretty quick that day.

I know Potatoes are a much larger economic and acreage crop than tomatoes so I understand your need to be totally above reproach with your methods and I applaude the fact that you are able to do what you do. As I'm in a state that is big in Potatoes too (tho in a different part of the state), I understand some of the disease problems too.

If I had to be that fastidious with my tomato seeds I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do a fraction of the varieties that I did this year.

The books are full of stories about talented "amatures" that make breakthru discoveries in plants because they don't know they "can't" do what they ARE doing. Personally I think ALL of us that are saving seeds of any sort fall at least on the fringes of that class. Heaven knows the seed companies aren't willing to do what has been done by many of those here at TV and SSE.

Keep up the good work.

[phicks48]

Hi Does any one know this Poatoe Zolushka? i got some TPS on e bay for it the seeds are round and white. about the size of a bb. there up and growing i planted some about a month ago. i thought all TPS looked like Tomatoe seeds? thanks Paul H

[svalli]

All potato seeds I have seen have been smaller than tomato seeds. They are same size and shape as tomatillo seeds. Color varies from brown to creamy.

What do the sprouted plants look like? Maybe the seeds were coated with something?

[phicks48]

this is a pic of the seeds

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...Potatoseed.jpg

and these are the plants that came up from the seeds

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...otatoplant.jpg

[svalli]

Those seeds must be covered with something, because the plants are potatoes. If I had received TPS looking like that, I would have thought it as a joke or hoax that someone sent me tapioca pearls (in Finland those are made from potato starch).

You have good looking and good size plants for month old, so what ever the seeds were coated with must work.

[phicks48]

What potatoes are you growing in Finland?

[Medbury Gardens]

Originally Posted by phicks48

this is a pic of the seeds

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...Potatoseed.jpg

and these are the plants that came up from the seeds

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...otatoplant.jpg

Looking good so far Paul

[phicks48]

have you ever seen round white TPS ? Paul

[feldon30]

Clearly the seeds were coated with something.

Nothing in nature looks like that picture.

[svalli]

Originally Posted by phicks48

What potatoes are you growing in Finland?

We have a field by my in-laws, where they grow Yukon Gold, Rosamunde, Pito and Niku as main crop from tubers. Yukon Golds were started from a bag of potatoes I brought from U.S. back in 1996.
We moved back here last year from Wisconsin and I grew Peruvian Purples from tubers I brought with us, but the season was bad and the harvest was small. I have mixed TPS seeds from Tom Wagner and last year I grew 6 plants in buckets. Five of them grew tubers, which will go in ground this spring. This year I was able to start two plants from Tom's TPS and three Potato Dance from ContainerTed. Some of the sprouted TPS did not survive my TLC, but 5 plants in bucket will be enough to take care for.

I would like to find fingerlings and blue or all red varieties, which will grow well here in north. There is not many interesting seed tuber varieties available in stores around here. That is why I am experimenting with TPS.

Sari

[phicks48]

the poatoes in my picture are red pontaics that i dug about 2 weeks ago . paul