Topic: Potatoes - True Potato Seed

[Silverleaf]

How is everyone doing with their TPS?

I have some really nice-looking plants. I'm lacking space so my plants are very much cosied up together - 12 plants went in each of four 3'x2' planter box. Some stayed very small, some got decimated by slugs, the odd one shrivelled up and died for no reason at all, but many are big and healthy and flowering and setting berries, with nice little tubers forming in everything from white to peach to red to purple to seriously deep inky violet.

My plants from tubers are yellowing and showing signs of starting to die back a bit, but the TPS are lush and green. They've certainly coped with the heat and drought and recent cold drizzle better than the tuber plants.

So right now, things are good. Assuming I don't lose the lot to blight (touch wood), I'll have lots of tubers to sample and grow out next year, and I'll sow more TPS as well. I'll have to see if I can source something with yellow/orange tubers I think!

I was hoping to get berries from some of my tuber plants this year, as I picked some varieties that tend to set them. But Maris Bard, Pentland Dell and Cara have failed me by either aborting their flowers at the bud stage or just not bothering to set berries. One Cara plant is going to flower again though, so fingers crossed.

TPS is fun. :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've got fairly mixed results. Most varieties picked up in the end, but some were much faster off the mark than others. Kita Akari hasn't done anything at all. Several others are really flourishing. I've had a few flowers, mostly on Skagit Magic, but no berries. Skagit Magic is diploid and unlikely to cross with other varieties, as most are tetraploid. I'll be looking for more diploids next year; they're mostly lower-yielding, but SM seems to be blightproof, so it's an interesting line.

This year I've been growing my TPS seedlings in large pots, filling the pots as they grow. It's worked far better than putting them out in the open ground, where last year's plants were almost all dug up by a fox a day or two after I put them out.

[Jayb]

Silverleaf, they sound like they are doing well for you, you wait till it's time to harvest 
It's been not such a good year for flowers setting here too, I think the up and down weather. You could try hand pollinating when Cara flower again?
My Palest Pink Eye are having second wind and blooming again, hopefully a few berries will form.

Robert, I think pot grown potato plants are harder to get to set flowers, although Skagit Magic should keep flowering for months, individuals won't self set but they will cross with other Skagit Magics from tps, might be worth dabbing some polen about?

[Jayb]

Mixed year for tps for me, I failed to plant some out, they just got left in modules, if I'm lucky there will be some mini tubers. Some of the others that were planted out but got knocked out by Late Blight last month.

On a good note my Late Blight resistant experimental ones are growing really well, some have become infected but others so far remain good and healthy. A few have started to flower and I can see buds on others.

I took this last week, mixed lines some hopefully with LB resistance

[Silverleaf]

The bees are happily pollinating TPS for me. Skagit Magic has a lot of berries already, and there are some on Desirée and Russian Blue as well.

Any tips on hand-pollinating? I've never done that before with potatoes.

Also, Snookie has flower buds. :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've now got several Skagit Magic flowering next to ech other, so hopefully they'll set seed. They're doing better in pots than my TPS planta have ever done in the open ground, so I'll stick to doing it this way, and probably plant tuvers out next year. That should get me more flowers.

[Jayb]

Sounds good and glad Snookie is finally catching up, it's white flowered and will set berries though not in abundance. I use an electric toothbrush to vibrate and shake the pollen from open potato flowers (I do the same for tomatoes too) I guess it works like a mechanical bee. I'm never quite sure if enough pollen gets onto the stigma this way, but to make sure I collect the pollen in a little shallow dish and then dip the stigma in the pollen. You could use a soft little paint brush too. Also if I'm just doing one or two I've tapped some pollen onto my finger and gently dabbed it on. If you want a go at cross pollinating http://www.growingfoodsavingseeds.co.uk/forum/main-forum/potatoes/3086-potato-breeding

[Jayb]

I've now got several Skagit Magic flowering next to ech other, so hopefully they'll set seed. They're doing better in pots than my TPS planta have ever done in the open ground, so I'll stick to doing it this way, and probably plant tuvers out next year. That should get me more flowers.

The way the blackbirds have been pulling out labels here this year, having them in pots might have been better! Plus it's a good way to be able to keep the tubers all in the right place. I'm looking forward to hearing how they do.

[Silverleaf]

Thanks jayb!