Topic: Potatoes - True Potato Seed

[Jayb]

It could be germination inhibitors. Fresh,, unfermented seed can be slow as the berry contains substances which prevent premature germination.

But the best performers have been my own saved Desiree seeds. No fermentation, I just scraped the seeds out onto some kitchen roll and let them dry. Just before I sowed, I scraped the seeds off the paper.

I've found different varieties can have quite different germinating times even when they have had the same processing?! The Violetta berries I thought had been quite ripe so didn't ferment them further, looks like they needed a bit longer. Mine haven't germinated yet either (sown on the 24th) so good to read yours are starting. I've more seeds here if you need.

[Jayb]

My Violetta came up well. Keep trying!

So glad, is it too soon to see any colour variations in the seedlings

[Jayb]

The Russian Banana came form a US grower. If yours are from another source, JayB, then maybe we should compare what we end up with and see if it's the same strain!

I'm not growing any this year but I'll look through and see if I have any pictures of Russian Banana or RB tps for you to compare.

[Robert_Brenchley]

My Violettas, and some of the others, coloured up after a few days. It's interesting to see the variation in some of the other lots; Violetta is the only pot where they all coloured up.

[Silverleaf]

All of mine are green so far.

[Jayb]

My Violettas, and some of the others, coloured up after a few days. It's interesting to see the variation in some of the other lots; Violetta is the only pot where they all coloured up.

Exciting to have lots of coloured ones, though I must admit I thought there would have been a range of colours and non from Violetta.

[Jayb]

All of mine are green so far.

How many days old?

[Jayb]

Kifli x Ratte F1 TPS sown 24th March and some just starting to be visible by  the 31st.

[Jayb]

Progress for Kifli x Ratte F1 taken yesterday 4th April
I'm looking for a good tasting, long salad/waxy type, great for cooking with skins on.

[Silverleaf]

All of mine are green so far.

How many days old?

About a week.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Give them time, and check again. Some varieties are all green, some are a mixture, Violetta is the only one I have which is all coloured.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've just noticed that not all the Violetta seedlings are coloured. There's more variation than I thought.

[Silverleaf]

Where are you seeing colour, and how old are yours? All of mine are just green.

[Jayb]

These are Sarpo Mira TPS and although not big colour difference, some of the stems are green and others have a pinky colour to them. (sown March 24th)
If they were Voletta (still not germinated) then I'd expect to see much deeper colours, mostly in the stem to begin with, leaves will come.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Mine are a couple of weeks old, on a windowsill which gets the afternoon sun. The colour is underneath the leaves.

[Silverleaf]

I pricked out and potted up some of my best seedlings today. The Desirées are the standouts vigour-wise, being much bigger than any of the others (they germinated quicker too), and most of them had tiny 5mm white tubers already!

So now 12 Desirée, 12 Skagit Magic, and 6 Russian Blue/Blue Belle (I mixed up the seeds when resowing) are taking their chances in my unseated greenhouse. The rest are back under the growlights.

I just can't wait to see what they'll produce!

[Jayb]

Sounds like they are coming on a treat 

[Silverleaf]

Sounds like they are coming on a treat 

Let's hope so! I'm especially pleased that the Desirée are doing so well because I saved the seed myself last year. :) It was so exciting to see the tiny tubers forming too, none of the other varieties are big enough to have them yet but a few have some little stolons visible so they can't be far off.

Is it normal for the tuberlets to be white at that stage? I'm expecting Desirée to show some red (the undersides of the leaves have a lot of colour and of course the parents have red skins), but I don't know how early the pigment develops in the tubers.

[Jayb]

I've found tuber colour is apparent early on, though I don't know if this always holds. Sometimes roots are coloured too. My tps might not be well enough rooted to turn out and take a picture, but here's one from a couple of years ago, grown from Skagit Magic. They are perhaps a bit bigger than yours but you can see colour pattern is uniform. When fully grown the purple colour was slightly paler.

[Silverleaf]

That's a much bigger plant than mine, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. There's definitely red in the leaves, so I guess there's hope!