Skagit Magic full of blooms

[Tom Wagner]

The original Skagit Magic is a Skagit Valley Gold x ukn diploid. When I harvested the berries of Skagit Magic....the only other diploids in the were other Skagit Valley Gold x unk diploids and there were about 140 other siblings in the area.

The plants you have, Indy, are indeed diploid....the leaf types that I have indicate that and the strawberry shape (conical) back that observation. Each of the diploid plants are incompatible with their own pollen but not with another diploid or sibling.

The seed within those berries are a result of being crossed by other diploids as tetraploid pollen can only pollinate in the rare occurrence of unreduced gametes in the ovules of the fruit.

The seed will be (Skagit Magic x mix sib) X (Skagit Magic x mix sib) or more precise

Skagit Magic (Skagit Valley Gold x Unknown Diploid) x Bulk( Skagit Valley Gold x Mix Diploids)

X

Skagit Magic (Skagit Valley Gold x Unknown Diploid) x Bulk (Skagit Valley Gold x
Mix Diploids)



Indy, I saw three 5 gallon potted Skagit Magic TPS seedlings in your photo earlier.

From left to right...You could call them Magikos, Magikh, and Mageia.


Therefore...any berries from each plant would be
Plant #1 = Magikos x Magikh and/or Mageia
Plant #2 = Megikh x Magikos and/or Mageia
Plant #3 = Mageia x Magikos and/or Magikh



I transplanted today many TPS seedlings include the best surviving 48 of 72 seedlings of a Skagit Magic tray. I kept these plants stunted for 11 weeks in the 72 cell tray...some suffering from drought like conditions and being pot bound for way too long. The ones I planted in the plastic covered beds had little tubers and there was a wide range of tuber colors and shapes. I had white, yellow, gold, red, violet, blue and dapples/spectacles. The plants will grow into large vines I am sure.

I have found that the seedlings out of Skagit Magic are stronger than most TPS seedlings. The best 48 of 72 plants show stress tolerance beyond what most other TPS seedlings can tolerate...most of the other clones just give up and make a tuber and die when left in the cube container that long. The greenhouse gets quite hot and dry and the potato seedlings suffered all of May, June and three weeks of July with extremes most of you would know about a greenhouse in summer. I have seen these barely one inch cubes get bone dry and yet most of the seedlings would recover with watering.

With the heat wave hitting most of the rest of the country (not Washington) it is a nice experiment to find TPS clones so tolerant of temps in the greenhouse over 100 at times dropping down to the high forties at night.

I love the diversity of colored potatoes with some my diploid lines. The original Skagit Magic was a round white but the offspring can be of almost any color...even back to the near orange of the female parent of Skagit Magic...Skagit Valley Gold. The male parent (unk. diploid) of Skagit Magic was likely from diploids I brought from my California program where heat and dryness was common. The many years of Solanum phureja, Solanum stenotomum, and other diploids mating indiscriminately year after year with excellent berry producing capacity is likely part of the success story of introgression. I did focus on controlled matings for my priorities in TPS sowings but I loved those accidental crossings.

All my life I fought weeds...and thought why can't potatoes act more like weeds? With the diploid species...I think I've found my potato weed. It pollinates like a weed....it grows like a weed, it takes heat, drought, cold, and even volunteers in the garden like a weed. Few people have done what I have done getting potatoes to be weed like.

Wild Potatoes: From weed to seed, from seed to feed; that's all I need.

Tom Wagner

Tom Wagner

[raindrops27]

First, let me say my favorite thing to eat is anything potato.

OK, I am a newbie to potato planting. I tried to grow them from sets one year, and it was such a fail. I gave up. SO, you all will be kind in my newbie question. When you all say berries on a potato, are they edible? I never heard of such.

Tom, I have a few questions. When is it best to plant potatoes I believe I am in zone 6A. I love baking potatoes, mashing, and potatoes to cut for fries. Which do you suggest for a newbie like me. What is the best way to prepare my bed to have great results, can I plant them where corn, and squash were grown? And a aside question, nothing to do with potatoes. What is the tomato variety pictured as your avatar? Thanks Tom..

[Tom Wagner]

Potato berries (fruits, pods, balls, etc) are not edible..... are toxic to humans, and would taste bitter anyway.

Our excitement with potato berries is simple....it is a great way to get new potato varieties!

Best planting times are best settled by asking friends and neighbors. Soil preparation is a long story...I would read ....read...read. After that it is trial and error.

Potatoes following corn and squash is good...following tomatoes, potatoes and peppers not so good

My avatar is the Green Zebra, one of the many tomatoes I developed through breeding and then selfing for many years.

Tom Wagner

[Tom Wagner]

After about four hours of weeding on my hands and knees....I was able to help get one of my cooperator's garden weeded. The rows of potatoes, corn, beans, squash, lupins, etc., are about 300 ft. long and the recent cool wet weather allowed a lush growth of lambsquarters, smartweed, grasses, etc., to grow where the tiller could not touch.

After about a thousand feet of weeding by my accounts....I was tired but not so much that I couldn't start crossing potatoes.

I used a new seedling of Skagit Magic as a female and male parent...I called it Gold Magic...knowing from the light green foliage and lack of pigmentation in the stems that it will be a yellow skinned, orange flesh tuber. I crossed it to Skagit Valley Gold ...a grandparent and to Donna Marie..an Aunt. I did nothing but diploids today since I want as many new diploids as I can get. Some of the new diploids obtained from the Potato Introduction Station were crossed as well. I remember one of them was TPS of CHAUCHA CURILLA, a phureja species from Colombia around 10,000 elevation of a potato grown in a shop keeper's garden in 1948. The plant was striking with dark purple/black stems. The leaves look like the flesh is going to be light yellow. The petals were not showing color much as I opened the buds to emasculate the flowers. I made the cross with pollen from Donna Marie as the real Donna Marie watched.

There is evidence that some late blight has been touching some of the potato varieties...some like York are hurt badly...but none of the Skagit Magic TPS seedlings are affected. Late blight is something I actually welcome so I can streamline my breeding work among those clones which are seemingly immune to any infection.

I forgot to take pictures again of the potato patch....got to remember next time.

[wmontanez]

Hi raindrops27,
I am also in zone 6A and my planting dates for potatoes are early May for August/Sept harvest some go into early October.

Yukon Golds are early and good as new potatoes, broiled and even potato salad but not huge yielders. Some of Tom's are exciting to grow if you want to have some unique flavors. My personal favorite (not surprise here for some in this forum) is Skagit Valley Gold. Just boiled with a dash of sea salt. I am yet to try it any other way.

A great baking .... I am still waiting to taste Amey Russet so can't tell you yet but also is known to be excellent for french fries.

As far as soil goes, well I am still getting to figure it out. But good ol' compost 50% mix with your garden soil did good to me last season. This year I added mycorrizhae at planting time and tomato-tone organic fertilizer when they began to bloom but I am sure others can shime in with more ideas.

As a good starting point to figure out what to try go to Tom's site http://newworldcrops.com/wp/shop/potato-seeds/ and read some of the descriptions there also I like to read Ronninger's potato garden descriptions even thou I got my seeds from New World Crops this year.

Wendy

[raindrops27]

Hi Wendy & Tom,

You all have me so excited about planting potatoes. And, I really only want Tom's now!! But, sadly, Tom is not taking any more orders, on potato packs. I see the seeds, but. I was going to try my luck at planting some potatoes in August, for harvest in October. But, I guess. I will just suck it up, and wait until next season. Thank you kindly for the information.

Tom, I never knew you developed Green Zebra!The look, has always dazzled me. I've yet to try it. But, maybe this upcoming season, since it is supposed to be my biggest year yet growing tomatoes. 20+ varieties. I will probably squeeze in a few green zebra'. Can you please tell me, when you will have the seeds for them available. Also, as for the potato pack's. Is there a wait list. I can get on to lock myself in for next season. Since they are sold out now.

Thanks so very much in advance.

[Indyartist]

I have grown from seeds (TPS) several potato plants from the seeds of "Skagit Magic", of the three previously pictured and named by Tom Wagner, this post will attempt to describe the results of these three plants.
In order as named by Tom Wagner,
"Magikos" has produced both tubers and berries.
"Magiki", produced neither tubers or berries.
"Mageia" produced berries but no tubers.
When I harvested the potatoes from "Magikos", I was so excited to photograph them that they were left indoors and never cured in any way. They have now already begun to sprout . I am going to attempt to grow the sprouted tubers from "Magikos" in plastic pots that could or should mature around November or December.
I actually have no information to base maturity information on but would welcome maturity estimates, based on this particular variety. In zone 5b, here in NE Indiana that will mean that the pots will likely end up finishing the year in a hoop house that I built this Spring. I'm not sure if my scheme will work but it might and I hope this will allow me to save new tubers to plant in the 2012 garden.

[wmontanez]

Diploids sprout early. Out of the 7 shriveled Skagit Valley Seeds planted about 3 made it to plants. The pulls are my hope to get those as seed that last longer in storage.