«Purple Majesty» - Organic Potato Seeds
1.39 €
Riding the wave from late summer to early fall, this healthy, robust leek produces strong, upright, uniform plants. Straight, clean white shanks are topped with blue-green leaves for an overall height of 14-16 inches.
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Organic Potato «Purple Majesty»
Riding the wave from late summer to early fall, this healthy, robust leek produces strong, upright, uniform plants. Straight, clean white shanks are topped with blue-green leaves for an overall height of 14-16 inches. Shrugging off pressure from bacterial diseases, Surfer holds well in the field without bulbing. Resistant to purple blotch, white tip, rust and thrips.How to Grow
True potato seeds are grown much like tomatoes. I start seeds in the greenhouse 6-8 weeks before the last frost, and transplant them into the garden where they grow and produce tubers just like any other potato plant. No more than 8 weeks should be allowed in order to minimize the chance of tuberization which disrupts the growth pattern of transplants. Due to the delicate nature of their stems, potato seedlings grow best in very bright light (direct sun or close to a grow light).
The way that has worked easiest for me is to plant the potato seeds in a pot in 1/2" soil, and after the first true leaves form (in a month) to cover the stem right up to the leaves. I usually lay the stems down before covering them. Then a few weeks later I add more soil and cover the stem and lower leaves. Repeat as necessary. I plant about 3 to 6 seeds per pot and thin to the most vigorous seedling. After 8 weeks the potatoes are growing in about 2" of soil and are poking out of the soil about 2". Stolons are beginning to form so they need to get into the ground ASAP after 8 weeks. I bury most of the stem when transplanting.
To continuously improve the planting stock I plant tubers from the best plants of the previous year's harvest and allow them to cross-pollinate with the seedlings. (Tubers from about 1/3 of the seedlings are saved for planting next year.) To increase diversity I add new genes to the population on a regular basis. In 2010 and 2011 I am growing seeds that were collected from populations endemic to Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile I am also growing mixed landraces from the Andes, Boliva, and Peru.
Potato fruits look like marble sized green tomatoes. The seeds are collected in the fall. I do not worry about the potato fruits stealing vigor from the tubers, because plants that produce lots of fruit in my garden are vigorous and also produce lots of tubers.