Red potatoes — have any favourites you grow?

[Joel_BC]

I grow Russets and Yukon Golds (neither of them “reds”) as mainstays… Russets are the stalwart French-fry variety all over North America, and Yukons are a yellow-flesh spud. Usually, both these varieties size-up and produce abundantly for me. This year, the Russets did well, the Yukons not up to snuff.

But I also like red potatoes, and usually grow some Warbas too. Generally, it seems red potatoes are creamier when baked than Russets, which tad to be a little dry until the addition of lots of butter, gravy, or sauce. So now (thinking of next spring), besides the Warba variety I’m interested to try some other red varieties that can produce a largish spud and lots of them… still having that creamy texture when baked.

Got any advice?

 

[sumi]

I absolutely love red "rooster" potatoes. They grow easy and produce well. I'm in Ireland though, so I don't know if you get this variety in Canada and if so, what they are called over there.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I've planted both the Red Pontiac and the Norland. OK success with both. It has been a little while since I grew potatoes - about 6 years - so tryin gto go off memory and I grew the Norland out in Wyoming and the Red Pontiac in WI. The Red Pontiac seemed to have a slightly darker red skin and cooked up nice and creamy, the Norland seemed to have a more consistant size and shape with a slightly thicker skin. I liked them baked as well as boiled.

 

[Joel_BC]

I've planted both the Red Pontiac and the Norland. OK success with both. It has been a little while since I grew potatoes - about 6 years - so tryin gto go off memory and I grew the Norland out in Wyoming and the Red Pontiac in WI. The Red Pontiac seemed to have a slightly darker red skin and cooked up nice and creamy, the Norland seemed to have a more consistant size and shape with a slightly thicker skin. I liked them baked as well as boiled.

Thanks. I haven't grown either of those varieties. I do know that some gardeners in my valley grow the Norlands, but I haven't discussed the variety with anybody. The info I could find on the Red Pontiacs seems to indicate that they're "choice" in terms of flavor and texture, but rarely grow very large and in fact tend to be of modest size and smaller.

 

[CrealCritter]

Several years ago we grew white and red potatoes at my father-in-laws and saved some seed potatoes for planting the next spring. Well those potatoes crossed and produced both white and red on the same vine. Seriously we pulled up the vines and both white and red potatoes were on the same root system.

I thought it was pretty cool that we solved an age old problem "do i plant white or red potatoes?" but my father in law didn't see it that way at all and wouldn't even eat any of the potatoes. Unbeknownst to me he left his outside of the barn in buckets and they rotted.

We eat ours over the winter they were just as good as any potatoes we ever grew or bought from the store. Come the next spring I went to go and get some seed potatoes from my father in law and of course all were a rotted stnky mess. I've tried to produce crossed potatoes twice since then but I have been unsuccessful.

I'm big into crossing heirloom veggies and saving seeds. It's interesting to see what the next crop will produce. Sometimes it's a bust but then again sometimes the results are amazing.

 

[Britesea]

I planted some All-Blue potatoes 3 years ago (when I was still eating potatoes a lot) and loved the flavor. Since then, I keep getting volunteers in the garden, although this year they were all scabby.

 

[Joel_BC]

I planted some All-Blue potatoes 3 years ago (when I was still eating potatoes a lot) and loved the flavor. Since then, I keep getting volunteers in the garden, although this year they were all scabby.

The scab that we're familiar with up here is caused by a bacterium that thrives when the soil is a little too high-pH (alkaline). So i have to use sulfur each year to prevent or reduce scabbing. I'd guess that if you're not deliberately cultivating your potatoes, then probably your soil pH is just going where it will, so to speak — hence, you get scab.

I've tried blue potatoes of some variety or other in the past, and the flavor and texture were fine, but the potatoes were smallish. I like spud varieties that keep well, taste good, ideally have that 'creamy' texture when baked or boiled, and produce a lot of largish tubers. My guess is that some of the red varieties would qualify... just need to figure out which ones.

 

[wyoDreamer]

This is an interesting site: http://potatoassociation.org/industry/varieties/red-rounds-potato-varieties

I like the small round red potatoes. The grade B ones. I am that lady at the grocery store picking through the red potatoes to buy only the ones that are round and the same size, lol. Picky, picky, picky

 

[Beekissed]

We've always grown Red Pontiacs and love them well. Nowadays they are the only potato I grow, as I love their silky sweet flavor and texture more than I like the Kennebecs we always planted along with the RPs.

In the cellar they don't store as well or as long as the Kennebecs, but I no longer have a cellar nor store spuds for very long, so I indulge in the RPs. Love their color, love how well they grow, love their tender skins and silky sweet flesh.

 

[Joel_BC]

Thanks for that Potato Organization link. Very informative.

We keep our home-grown spuds, for as long as possible, in our cold room (concrete floor — so not really a root cellar).

This is sort of necessary, because we have about five months of no productive gardens outdoors, and a bit over three months without significant greenhouse production. Upshot is that with potatoes we like to grow bulk. I guess I'm picky, picky, picky in the other direction.

Our Russets and Yukons can provide bulk. But I guess I'll decline to select red varieties that typically produce low numbers or small (if nicely shaped) spuds.