Potato Evaluation 2012

[wmontanez]

Last year I grew around 70 varieties of potatoes, most of them clones but also some 1st year tubers and few new TPS plants. To me it is overwhelming to decide what to continue and what to let go.

I made this table and rank them for overall performance to aid me in deciding and also to keep track of all the little details about the varieties.



I am selecting the potatoes by Flavor, Storage-ability, Disease resistance, Fertility and lastly Yield. Flavor is the most important criteria for me. Some of the diploids are really tasty but short storage for my garden so they still some deserve a center stage just for flavor alone.

I am reducing the potatoes I grow to about 25-35 varieties to give room for more TPS.

[Mark0820]

Interesting information. I'm glad Fripapa is high on the list. I am growing Fripapa TPS this year. Although it doesn't appear to produce berries very well.

[Tom Wagner]

Do you mean Fripapa the clone or the seedlings grown from TPS?

The Bolivian clone, Fripapa, has produced berries for me nearly every year. I do augment the soil with lots of organic minerals, etc.

wmontanez...thanks for taking such detailed notes. I recognize so many of those clones since I have grown many of them myself.

[Medbury Gardens]

Thats an impressive list there Wendy,well done.

I take it you still dont have enough Moie moie to taste yet?

[GunnarSK]

It looks good, and I'm sure it will be useful for prediction and comparison.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by wmontanez

Last year I grew around 70 varieties of potatoes,

I am reducing the potatoes I grow to about 25-35 varieties to give room for more TPS.

The yields are too low. I expect 4 to 7 pounds from each plant, and of excellent quality. Anything less than four pounds per plant, I consider marginal

Example:
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ZLDZE 15 September 2010 Viking Potatoes Harvested

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RUDKB 15 September 2010 Chieftain Potatoes Harvested.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ATRDM 15 September 2010 Agria Potatoes Harvested

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?FBQWE 11 September 2010 Russian Blue Potatoes.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BKWAI 11 September 2010 Yukon Gold Test Box Potatoes

[Mark0820]

Originally Posted by Tom Wagner

Do you mean Fripapa the clone or the seedlings grown from TPS?

The Bolivian clone, Fripapa, has produced berries for me nearly every year. I do augment the soil with lots of organic minerals, etc.

wmontanez...thanks for taking such detailed notes. I recognize so many of those clones since I have grown many of them myself.

I was just commenting on wmontanez's chart. She has Fripapa rated a 1 for berry production. I'm growing Fripapa TPS for the first time this year so I have no experience with the berry production.

[wmontanez]

Hi Mark0820/Tom
Fripapa in that table is clone. And it did produce berries both times I grew it.
My criteria for berry is 1-5 get's 1 point...6-10 berries gets 2 points and so on...

I have Fripapa F1 which has name as Fripapa 1, 2, 3 from TPS grown also but is not in that table. I got 3 different colors.

[wmontanez]

Originally Posted by Medbury Gardens

Thats an impressive list there Wendy,well done.

I take it you still dont have enough Moie moie to taste yet?

Richard yes, not many Moie-Moie to taste this time around.

But from the Mystery Segregation I was impressed with the yields! It does not have a ranking for taste in that table because I ate them all at the same time and got confused, for sure the white Mystery is not outstanding but yield are great and works fine for a potato pie. The blue resembling Urenika was awesome in taste but mine solid purple are round and was least in yield, that is why is not in the table....the long blue are white and blue inside, good also and the red are good as well also have a long and round both tasty.

[wmontanez]

The good thing about this table is that at planting time I can sort by short/medium/long season type and also for growing habit etc to maximize my garden.

I sorted by flavor and this is how I am selecting those to keep cloning. Of course those not tasted yet have a second chance to knock one the table for next year...



It's a very difficult choice for me, for this year I am giving some clones to coworkers ...example is Azule Rose...I have so many blues from Tom that Azule Rose got the least points for flavor but overall has many points in that case what to do? hard choice but this 2013 will be the last time to grow it

Sarpo Finger is one that I am sad to let go as well but I have to give another potato variety a chance...

[wmontanez]

Durgan
Great yields indeed. Good for you!

[sdzejachok]

What method do you use to keep these segregated in the field?

[wmontanez]

Originally Posted by sdzejachok

What method do you use to keep these segregated in the field?

@sdzejachok

Since I do not have that many varieties I do put a label on each plant at the base at planting time.

For TPS progeny I give a temporary name to each plant. The name uses the potato mother's name for example Amey gave me TPS berries in 2010, 2011, 2012 so the 2010 berry got the name AmeyX and I grew TPS seedlings in 2011. I had many TPS seedlings so I choose 4 based on the looks of the plant itself. One particular plant was showing dark blue stems so I took that and named it Amey X #1, another was completely green no slight color so it got named Amey X #2 and the other 2 were similar in form some slight blue color to the stem named Amey X3 and X4. At the end after harvest, I looked at all the tubers from each plant and ate one of each. If you can select at this point it cuts the process a bit. The ones that had potential (flavor, yield, looks) got stored and the others let go. I did the same with many other TPS lines!

In the Amey X example only 2 were interesting enough to me to continue both were Russet potatoes as Amey mother but one was blue skinned/white flesh the other was pale yellow flesh.

Seeking permission from Tom Wagner in regards of the name I named one "Amey Azul" the other yet is unnamed. From the yields Amey Azul is promising with big tubers, stores well also, it bloomed a lot and even set 1-2 berries that I failed to collect!!! The bad things is flavor is just average and the tubers had some scab and wireworm damage. Amey mother is more disease resistant. I am growing it again this year to see and maybe even try to cross it back to Amey mother and see it set berries.

[greenworm]

Hi Wendy,

I was wondering how you selected for flavor, is meal preparation always the same, i.e. baked and buttered, or do you test them in other preparations such as soups? And are you hiring flavor analyzers? lol Great job!

[wmontanez]

@greenworm

I now for flavor have become more difficult to please after enjoying some amazing potatoes. I said it before the gold standard I compare to is boiling: Skagit Valley Gold, mashed/baked: Amey Russet, french fry: Marcy (now Kennebec) roasted: Red Thumb/SVG/Yukon Gold.

I prepare each potato in similar ways, if the potato is a small size it makes it more difficult to rate some taste test but I try to cook them in the same way 3-4 varieties at the same time to compare. I don't add butter so far...

1.boil in the jacket nothing added
2.boil and mash only salt added
3.oven baked/microwave baked nothing added
4. french fry just salt/vinegar water
5. over roasted with salt, cracked pepper and olive oil

I am an amateur potato hobby backyard gardener. Hiring flavor analyzers? LOL you can say I recruit friends and family to help me rate those 3 on my scale.