More on Potatoes

Feel free to scroll on by if the topic is not to your liking.  A disclaimer:  Yesterday I determined what varieties of potatoes I would consider planting this year, based on recommendations from K-State and based on adaptation to local conditions.  That is not to say, however, that planting the other varieties being offered would be a grievous mistake. 

Some of us need a way to  narrow down the options in order to get past the indecisiveness that plagues our planning.  Extension Service recommendations seem like a good place to start if all the possibilities appear to be the same uniform shade of gray. 

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I had settled on four potato varieties as possibilities:  Superior, Norland, La Soda, and Pontiac.  The last three often have "Red" in front of the other name.  I think probably the red skin color was not a predictable characteristic of the variety at first, but by selecting for that color, over time it eventually became a constant in all the seed stock.

Neither Stutzmans nor Smith's Market had Superior, the only white-skinned one on my list.  All three of the others are available in both places.   In addition to the varieties in my list, I found these: Viking (Red), Russet Burbank, Dakota Pearl (White), Yukon Gold, and Kennebec (white).  

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Before I headed out this forenoon, I checked to see what quantity I might want to buy. Usually there are 8-10 pieces per pound. The guideline that I found most helpful is that one pound of potatoes usually plants about 10 feet of row.  Since my rows are all 15 ft. long, I knew that I wanted to buy about 1 1/2 lbs. of whatever kinds I bought.  Since I will need to buy now whatever I need for fall planting too,  I'll probably buy three lbs. of each kind, and plan to tuck half of each variety into the refrigerator for later planting.  

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Knowing the rest of the details on each potato variety was not strictly necessary before I made any purchases, but I JUST WANTED TO KNOW . . .   If that's you, read on.

Timing of Harvest

Norland--early

Superior--early-mid

La Soda--early-mid

Pontiac--mid-late

Best Use

 Norland--boiling

Superior--baking, mashing

La Soda--boiling

Pontiac--salads, boiling

Storage 

Norland--good

Superior--good

La Soda--good

Pontiac--fair

Scab (Disease) Tolerance

Norland--good

Superior--moderate

La Soda--moderate

Pontiac--poor