Topic: Growing potatoes from True Potato seed.

[Jayb]

Thanks for taking the time to explain Tom, and your offer. I'd made a naive assumption that blight resistance from those varieties may be effective over here too. I'll try and make some of my own crosses this year (fingers crossed) with some of the Sarpo varieties. If I'm not asking too much, any tips for what crosses? Looking for blight resistance and an improved eating quality (I prefer waxy types). Here’s what I have available on the resistant front;
Axona and Mira, ( also Blue Danube Sarpo Una, Sarpo Kifli, though they are not as resistant)
Setanta
Toluca
Orla

On the blight theme, I'm growing Lumpers from Irish Seed Savers Association this year (I'm not sure if you have a hand in that), so fingers crossed they stay well long enough for a crop!

Go on 1066, you know you want to, I'm hoping Jeannine will be joining in too ;D If you are short on space for this year, what about growing some in smallish pots and getting some mini tubers to grow as seed potatoes next year? I’m hoping to do this with some later on.

[1066]

just been looking at Tom's website ................ I knew it would be fatal!

It sounds like a lot of fun, and oh what the heck, I'll be in good company anayway. Just be prepared for some dumb questions!!

Tom, thank you and I'll send you a pm

1066  :)

[Jayb]

 ;D

[1066]

don't you grin at me like that! It's time you sat on the norty step young lady!!!  :P  ::)  ;)

[Jeannine]

Yep, you were right..Jeannine has ordered too..so many varieties.. I think I should be looking for a farm again!!

XX Jeannine

[Jayb]

 ;D ;D
Just off the norty step


;D  ;D thought you might Jeannine

[Jayb]

I sowed my TPS on the 1st March, in two trays. Unfortunately I may have cooked one lot, when my old propagator overheated, although I noticed today a couple pushing through.

The second tray's seedlings started to show on the 6th
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What a diference a day makes , picture taken on the 7th
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[goodlife]

gosh..they do look like tomato seedlings...weird to imagine that those little things would grow some taties..

[chriscross1966]

gosh..they do look like tomato seedlings...weird to imagine that those little things would grow some taties..

On the other hand have you seen a potato-leaved tomato before it flowers.... you'd swear blind it was a spud..... :D

[goodlife]

I've just been looking that seedling picture again...Jayb did you polish the tray for the photo?.. ;D...looks so clean and tidy...mine are always splashed all over with compost and water ::)

[goodlife]

Oh..and another thing that I was wondering.. ::)
When you harvest the seed pods...do the seeds come clean out of the pod straight away or is there some sort of 'gunk' to get rid of first ???..like with tomatoes..
And do you process with the seeds then as usual...drying them out before packing away untill spring..etc.
I was "just" thinking if this "bug"(feeling the first symptoms already) doesn't clear out I might have to do the whole thing from start to finish..from harvesting the seed to digging potatoes out..just to get it out of my system..:-X ::) ;)

[Jayb]

Jayb did you polish the tray for the photo?...

For sure :P

I picked the few berries I had last year, Russian Banana and Blue Russian a bit before their time, due to the start of blight on some other potatoes nearby. I kept the berries inside to ripen for a while; they have a remarkable sweet scent when ripe and the pods had gone a bit squidgy. I blitzed mine in a liquidiser with a couple of cups of water and then strained off all the bits. I used the liquidizer method but I could have squeezed them out and rinsed them in a fine sieve. They can be left to dry as you would tomatoes, but......

I then followed advice, given I think on another forum, by Tom Wagner, to use a small amount of TSP (Trisodium Phosphate)  to clean the seeds, followed by a bleach wash and then I think it was a hot rinse! This is to help remove germination inhibitors and hopefully kill any viruses. I’ll see if I can find a link as I found it really interesting.

You can skip the above and have good results, but from what I understand germination may take a little longer and be a bit sporadic.
Even if you leave the berries and they go hard, you can still get the seeds out after a quick soak.

Lol, yes I’ve found it a very enticing bug so watch out!

[1066]

well my seeds arrived today, I'll get sowing them over the weekend. The excitement, and no doubt questions start here  ;D

Actually while on the subject of questions, I've been reading various bits on the subject and am wondering about pollination. any chance of a SIMPLE explanantion  ;)

I noticed berries on my Salad Blues last year, but was obviously in dozy land at the time  ::)

1066  :)

[Jayb]

Yayyyy that was quick, they sound a super variety. I think if you are growing Tom’s TPS they are very likely to be able to set berries.

Your question appeared simple to start but as I write it seems to me no simple question. So here’s the little I know and probably not put very well....
Not all varieties of potatoes are able to set and make seed. Most varieties here are tetraploid and of those that can set berries most will self pollinate, although if you have other potatoes growing and flowering close by some may cross.

Then it gets more complicated; there are also varieties which are unable to self pollinate mainly it seems the modern ones which have sterile pollen (I think also some are female-sterile). Besides this I’ve not quite got my head around diploid, tetraploid x diploid.

This may give a better idea http://tatermater.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=347

If you wanted to grow some UK potato varieties for TPS, you can do a search at The European Cultivated Potato Database for those most likely to produce berries http://www.europotato.org/search.php

Potato flowers I think are very pretty, I just love the range of colours.  The flowers have similarities to tomatoes and fertilisation can occur before flower buds properly open, as with tomatoes. If you fancy a go at creating your own variety, these may help and inspire
http://tatermater.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=253
http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-breed-your-own-potatoes.html
http://www.science.gc.ca/default.asp?Lang=En&n=C9FF442B-1

Hope I am answering some of your question.

[1066]

thanks Jayb and yes it was helpful! Your explanation helps me as I it explains in simple language about those that cross and those that don't, which is where I think I was geting muddled before! I also think where I get muddled is all the info about breeding, and crossing.

Oh, it's going to be a looooong summer  ;)

[Jayb]

Picture update taken on 12/3 showing first true leaves

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When I was taking the above pictures I noticed a tri-cote and quad-cote (not sure of the proper term  :-\) seedlings.

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[Jayb]

Amazing how quickly these grow, I took these pictures on the 20/3, I'll take some more as soon as I get my camera back from a friend.
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Intresting to see the darker stems and almost purple edges to some leaves and I hope this indicates some tubers will have coloured skin and or flesh.

I've potted most of these up, perhaps a bit soon but I had them a little squashed in. I transplanted them as deeply as possible into about 1" modules, leaving just the last leaves showing above the compost, they look to be doing well.

[1066]

Wondering how your TPS are doing?
Mine have been potted on once, and are outside on a sunny windowsill, growth seems very slow at the moment and I'm wondering when I need to move them on.
I also still need to work out where I'll move them onto. Some will have to be in pots as I don't have much space left this year, so I need to figure out the best way to deal with them in pots/ buckets, and to find big enough pots/buckets to cope them.

[Jayb]

Oops sorry a bit slow updating. Mostly it is going well although I think mine would have benefited from being sown a couple of weeks later. I wasn’t quite ready to get them out when they needed it and I think they would have been a little soon re frost. But I could quite easily have covered them with fleece. Some of the poor little things haven’t been potted on as quickly as they should and have suffered a little, they look a bit straggly and in need of a feed. Though I think they will still make serviceable plants just the harvest may be a little reduced and delayed. I’ll try and take some recent pictures in the next day or so.

These pictures are a bit old now but should give an idea how mine have been progressing. These have all either been in a polytunnel or greenhouse (no heating) for the last 4- 6 weeks. I’m not sure why yours should be slow to grow on, could it have been a bit too cool for them?

I’m going to put some of mine into pots too, if space allows. What about using old compost bags turned inside out, not the prettiest but I think would be fine for 2 plants, it can be quite handy to roll the bags up as they grow and makes it quite easy to keep topping the bags up. The tps I planted in a bed last year were roughly a foot apart each way and it seemed to work well, although I’ll try and experiment a little to see what works the best. I used grass clippings to help ‘earth’ them up.

Seedlings after their first potting on taken on 6th April

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Again about a month later on 2nd May They are just about to be planted out.

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This Skagit Magic seedling grew at a much faster rate than all the other tps so I potted it up separately, flower buds are just showing again taken on 2nd May

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[1066]

thanks for the update and the photos  :) Yours look much bigger, but then they were sown earlier and have had the benefit of the polytunnel. Kind of helps me understand what to expect. I like the idea of using compost bags, hadn't thought about putting 2 plants per bag so that would be good too
Think I'll plant mine out next week .....