SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD -potato variety - Page 2

**Tom Wagner** · September 29, 2013

Thanks, your results duplicate fairly accurately what I achieved from those lines as well. I processed a bushel of potato berries from last years seedlings of Skagit Plenty that were planted as tuber lines this season. That bushel of berries translated to about a quarter million TPS (true potato seed) after I processed the extraction.

I am in direct negotiations with greenhouse producers in two states to grow many thousands of plugs for either transplanting to the field, mature out in the trays for mini tubers, or for a test marketing of six pack sales of TPS seedlings. The F-3 Skagit Plenties show surprisingly good vigor in all of the seedlings with nary a weak plant anywhere. The F-3 tubers were harvested by my cooperator on this deal, however, no berries were kept unfortunately.

I am going to display my Skagit Valley Gold potatoes and probably the Skagit Plenty tubers as well........ tomorrow at the Herb Farm Restaurant as one of five local vendors treated to a five course dinner with a tasting of many of my tomatoes catering to what I believe will be investors dining at the restaurant.

Some of you may not know this about the restaurant where I am displaying my wares:

Quote:

I had heard news of The Herbfarm for years. Many say is the best restaurant in the United States and “the ultimate expression of the Northwest’s bounty.” National Geographic declares it “The #1 destination restaurant in the world.”

I will be displaying for taste sample my newest tomato lines....Brady Bunch and Blue Dawg!

Mind you...I have never dined at the Herbfarm...the dinners are around $200 per person, so as an invited guest and vendor....I shouldn't complain. Should I tip?

The tasting event will last for an hour or more and the dinner lasts from 7 til 11:30. As I understand it they are making a tomato juice medley of many of my 140 varieties of tomatoes grown at the local organic farm that caters to the restaurant.

They have served Skagit Valley Gold potatoes at the restaurant for the last three years.

Fusion_power · September 29, 2013

Tom, carry $20 for a tip, the waiter(s) will appreciate it. Be prepared to talk, you will be hoarse for 3 days. Carry samples of anything you think is interesting, including several packages of seed you can pass out as freebies. Be sure the packages have contact information! Don't hesitate to pass out business cards. If you don't have business cards, either get some made up tomorrow or make up some tear off sheets with your name, website, phone number, etc. Some guests will take a pack of seed, others would be better to have a business card.

This is a wonderful opportunity to get some front row exposure for your breeding work!

**Tom Wagner** · September 30, 2013

I tipped the guitar player, Patricio Contreras who trained at The Madrid Royal Conservatory (Spanish: Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) a music college in Madrid. His soft melodies of Spanish style were soothing and did not interfere with conversation.

The staff refused any tip.

The event I was invited to last night was from 3 to near 9 at night. Everyone who came to my table during the walkabout were offered the drink called TOM'S GREEN ZEBRA TOMATO SOUP, which had hints of ginger and some gourmet vinegar. There are samples of it on one the following photos.

I had a few tiny SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD tubers on one plate that also had Skagit Plenty and Lumper. I also had a plate full of multi-colored potato tubers grown from TPS in the forefront of the one picture.

I got the biggest laugh and broadest smiles from the restaurant's members and investors when I opened the egg carton full of BLUE DAWG tomatoes! The OMG comments were mostly from the sampling of GOLD KEEPER tomatoes. Most everyone's Sun Golds are splitting from all the downpours we had lately and the guests were amazed that the fruits had no cracking and were firm and sweet. Sun Sugar is in the pedigree as well as the frost/cold tolerant 77280 and Green Grape.
GOLD KEEPER fruits seem not to be affected by the late blight that is rampant here now. I tried a Sun Gold in the field yesterday and it was awful...the rain, cold, and blight has ruined any fruit remaining on the vine.

Needless to say... but I was able to get volunteers to grow my tomatoes next year, and was pleasantly surprised many of the guests had grown GREEN ZEBRA tomatoes and wanted to try my other varieties.

The table where I was seated for the dinner wanted me to join with them to sponsor a tomato theme dinner next August/September featuring my varieties.

Funny....seems like the Tom Tato was on everyone's mind. Tom Tato is where a tomato is grafted onto a potato rootstalk for a dual production of tomatoes and potatoes. I explained that it would be better to graft onto a TPS seedling that was a short day adapted variety or one that needed 150 days for maturity. An early maturing potato like Yukon Gold would be counter productive.

When I suggested that I may be able to sell or provide grafted tomatoes next year..... I got positive responses from those who overheard my explanations. One lady in the audience was an overwhelming fan of potato flowers and asked why it hasn't been featured as a flowering pot plant. I said it may not be long in waiting...as I will be talking later this fall with the grafting specialists to perhaps test graft a blue flowing Magic Dragon potato onto a tomato rootstalk. Instead of growing low as most potatoes...it would be a climber! Since the Magic Dragon is a diploid...it would never set berries without a pollenizer and would bloom profusely from the point of sale to frost. The SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD would make a great graft as well since the mauve pink flowers are attractive and the flowers' aroma is captivating.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/CISz11k.png?2[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/6vcpcwG.png?2[/IMG]

or if those don't load:
http://imgur.com/CISz11k
http://imgur.com/CISz11k

Fusion_power · October 1, 2013

I love the idea of flowering potatoes. If you recall, I had 2 tubers from last year that turned out to have very pretty flowers, one white, one royal purple. They are going beside my mailbox next year!

**Tom Wagner** · August 19, 2014

http://i.imgur.com/b7Q7QWh.jpg

A single hill of Skagit Valley Gold potato variety. Dug just south of the Canadian border in Washington. About two lbs. of spuds..very pretty. The berries on this vine were crossed with pollen from a seedling derived from a full sibling of SVG which has red skin. Looking forward to growing the TPS out someday.

The photo is me holding the vine and the photographer was my older sister Gloria visiting from Arizona. She was a teenager when I started breeding plants in 1954, and knows all too well what a plant nut I have been all these years. I showed her how to dig the plant just by pulling the plant up and then with a quick jerking motion ....the dislodging of all the tubers to the ground

yardn_gardn · August 20, 2014

Tom,
Being from Idaho, I'm often restricted from growing interesting potatoes because of shipping restrictions. I'll be looking into purchasing some seed from you. The Herb Farm sounds fabulous.

**Tom Wagner** · February 8, 2015

Many direct hybrids of Skagit Valley Gold TPS are again available in my webshop tatermaterseeds.com. Additionally many have SVG as a maternal grandparent or even great grandparent. I expect to sell out of many of my TPS lines as many are only available in ten pack maximums.

**Tom Wagner** · February 9, 2015

http://i.imgur.com/cZhWySh.png here is but one example of a new Skagit Valley Gold hybrid grown from TPS

NathanP · November 30, 2017

SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD has now been cleaned and is held at the USDA genebank under the 'BS 296' accession identifier. Nice to see Tom get the recognition for this.

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlo...spx?id=1947927

MrBig46 · May 31, 2019

I would like to try to grow seed potatoes next year. Can anyone advise me where I can buy potato seeds, maybe SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD. I tried on tatermaterseeds.com, but they don't sell now.
Vladimír

NathanP · November 23, 2019

Because you are in Europe, you will need to find a source from within the EU or need an import permit. I know there is SVG available within the US, but the seller will not ship outside the US. It may be difficult to find SVG outside the US, but there are some potato breeders who may have some.

I would recommend looking into the Kenosha Potato Project on Facebook. There are a number of people in Europe who have been generous with sending small quantities of TPS to others in the EU.

August 20, 2014	#21
yardn_gardn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Central Idaho at 3200 elev. in zone 5b, maybe 100 frost free days Posts: 77	Tom, Being from Idaho, I'm often restricted from growing interesting potatoes because of shipping restrictions. I'll be looking into purchasing some seed from you. The Herb Farm sounds fabulous. __________________ Happy garden trails, Dawn

September 29, 2013	#17
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Tom, carry $20 for a tip, the waiter(s) will appreciate it. Be prepared to talk, you will be hoarse for 3 days. Carry samples of anything you think is interesting, including several packages of seed you can pass out as freebies. Be sure the packages have contact information! Don't hesitate to pass out business cards. If you don't have business cards, either get some made up tomorrow or make up some tear off sheets with your name, website, phone number, etc. Some guests will take a pack of seed, others would be better to have a business card. This is a wonderful opportunity to get some front row exposure for your breeding work!

September 30, 2013	#18
Tom Wagner Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204 Posts: 1,157	I tipped the guitar player, Patricio Contreras who trained at The Madrid Royal Conservatory (Spanish: Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) a music college in Madrid. His soft melodies of Spanish style were soothing and did not interfere with conversation. The staff refused any tip. The event I was invited to last night was from 3 to near 9 at night. Everyone who came to my table during the walkabout were offered the drink called TOM'S GREEN ZEBRA TOMATO SOUP, which had hints of ginger and some gourmet vinegar. There are samples of it on one the following photos. I had a few tiny SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD tubers on one plate that also had Skagit Plenty and Lumper. I also had a plate full of multi-colored potato tubers grown from TPS in the forefront of the one picture. I got the biggest laugh and broadest smiles from the restaurant's members and investors when I opened the egg carton full of BLUE DAWG tomatoes! The OMG comments were mostly from the sampling of GOLD KEEPER tomatoes. Most everyone's Sun Golds are splitting from all the downpours we had lately and the guests were amazed that the fruits had no cracking and were firm and sweet. Sun Sugar is in the pedigree as well as the frost/cold tolerant 77280 and Green Grape. GOLD KEEPER fruits seem not to be affected by the late blight that is rampant here now. I tried a Sun Gold in the field yesterday and it was awful...the rain, cold, and blight has ruined any fruit remaining on the vine. Needless to say... but I was able to get volunteers to grow my tomatoes next year, and was pleasantly surprised many of the guests had grown GREEN ZEBRA tomatoes and wanted to try my other varieties. The table where I was seated for the dinner wanted me to join with them to sponsor a tomato theme dinner next August/September featuring my varieties. Funny....seems like the Tom Tato was on everyone's mind. Tom Tato is where a tomato is grafted onto a potato rootstalk for a dual production of tomatoes and potatoes. I explained that it would be better to graft onto a TPS seedling that was a short day adapted variety or one that needed 150 days for maturity. An early maturing potato like Yukon Gold would be counter productive. When I suggested that I may be able to sell or provide grafted tomatoes next year..... I got positive responses from those who overheard my explanations. One lady in the audience was an overwhelming fan of potato flowers and asked why it hasn't been featured as a flowering pot plant. I said it may not be long in waiting...as I will be talking later this fall with the grafting specialists to perhaps test graft a blue flowing Magic Dragon potato onto a tomato rootstalk. Instead of growing low as most potatoes...it would be a climber! Since the Magic Dragon is a diploid...it would never set berries without a pollenizer and would bloom profusely from the point of sale to frost. The SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD would make a great graft as well since the mauve pink flowers are attractive and the flowers' aroma is captivating. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/CISz11k.png?2[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/6vcpcwG.png?2[/IMG] or if those don't load: http://imgur.com/CISz11k http://imgur.com/CISz11k

October 1, 2013	#19
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	I love the idea of flowering potatoes. If you recall, I had 2 tubers from last year that turned out to have very pretty flowers, one white, one royal purple. They are going beside my mailbox next year!

August 19, 2014	#20
Tom Wagner Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204 Posts: 1,157	http://i.imgur.com/b7Q7QWh.jpg A single hill of Skagit Valley Gold potato variety. Dug just south of the Canadian border in Washington. About two lbs. of spuds..very pretty. The berries on this vine were crossed with pollen from a seedling derived from a full sibling of SVG which has red skin. Looking forward to growing the TPS out someday. The photo is me holding the vine and the photographer was my older sister Gloria visiting from Arizona. She was a teenager when I started breeding plants in 1954, and knows all too well what a plant nut I have been all these years. I showed her how to dig the plant just by pulling the plant up and then with a quick jerking motion ....the dislodging of all the tubers to the ground

February 8, 2015	#22
Tom Wagner Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204 Posts: 1,157	Many direct hybrids of Skagit Valley Gold TPS are again available in my webshop tatermaterseeds.com. Additionally many have SVG as a maternal grandparent or even great grandparent. I expect to sell out of many of my TPS lines as many are only available in ten pack maximums.

February 9, 2015	#23
Tom Wagner Crosstalk™ Forum Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 8407 18th Ave West 7-203 Everett, Washington 98204 Posts: 1,157	http://i.imgur.com/cZhWySh.png here is but one example of a new Skagit Valley Gold hybrid grown from TPS

November 30, 2017	#24
NathanP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: RI Posts: 183	SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD has now been cleaned and is held at the USDA genebank under the 'BS 296' accession identifier. Nice to see Tom get the recognition for this. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlo...spx?id=1947927

May 31, 2019	#25
MrBig46 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Czech republic Posts: 2,534	I would like to try to grow seed potatoes next year. Can anyone advise me where I can buy potato seeds, maybe SKAGIT VALLEY GOLD. I tried on tatermaterseeds.com, but they don't sell now. Vladimír

November 23, 2019	#26
NathanP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: RI Posts: 183	Because you are in Europe, you will need to find a source from within the EU or need an import permit. I know there is SVG available within the US, but the seller will not ship outside the US. It may be difficult to find SVG outside the US, but there are some potato breeders who may have some. I would recommend looking into the Kenosha Potato Project on Facebook. There are a number of people in Europe who have been generous with sending small quantities of TPS to others in the EU.