# Potatoes - high yielding varieties?



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

The last couple of years I've ordered seed potatoes from different online sources. I get carried away by the catalog descriptions and end up growing a dozen different varieties. A lot of them are disappointing, like the Blue Gold/Peter Wilcox and Red Bliss, which were both poor yielders for me. The Blue Golds were also the first to sprout in the root cellar. 

I've realized that I don't have a gourmet palate. Pretty much all potatoes taste good to me. I don't detect subtle nuances like the "reminiscent of chestnut" flavor the catalogs go on about. 

I just want the best yield for my labor. And I want decent sized spuds too. No more little tiny fingerlings or ping pong balls. It's tiresome to scrub dirt off 20 tiny potatoes when you're trying to hurry up and get dinner on the table. 

I think I just want "peasant style" potatoes. Big, high yielding, easy to scrub potatoes for dinner. The best yielding for me so far were Yellow Finns. Do have any that stand out for you, as far as productivity? My neighbors all grow Kennebecs, they must do really well here. Maybe I'll give those a go too.


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

Kennebec, Red Norlund, Yukon Gold and Red Pontiac are what I grow. The first two yield real well all the time. YG's can go from outstanding to OK. Red Pontiac was grown for the first time last year and the yield was OK. They were in the poorest part of the garden. The should do better next year. I'm in a cold zone 3.


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

Echo on the Red Norlunds here. Planted 10 got 40 pounds. And no maintenance. Come to think of it, they didn't even flower. But still got lots of good sized potatoes. And very rich tasting.


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## elmtree3 (Apr 30, 2011)

We grow Kennebec and Red Pontiac every year. They both produce abundantly in our area. We've also grown German Butterball for a few years, and although the potatoes are smaller than the previous two, the yields are huge, and the flavor is excellent.
This year I'd like to try Nicola, anyone else grown this variety?


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

zone 5,norlands every year


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## paradox (Nov 19, 2012)

Anybody in zone 7B know which ones work well?


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Probably Kennebec, then Red Pontiac, Russet Burbank, Irish Cobbler would give you the best chance of high yield and potato size. You might try finding seed potatoes at a local garden center or feed store, if you are tired of the online route. Most of these are available in most places. Here's a listing of many of the more commonly home grown potatoes for your reference. http://potatoassociation.org/Industry Outreach/varieties/

You can make a difference on the size and yield, too. In my opinion, the above varieties have the best DNA potential, which you can maximize by good nutrients at the right time, good loose soil, and goldilocks watering(the right amount at the right time), and weed control.

geo


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

That listing was very interesting, thank you for posting it. In looking at red potatoes it says Pontiac is "Susceptible to most common potato diseases" and for Norland it says, "yields are low to intermediate."

But it says of Red Viking, "The outstanding characteristics of Viking are high yield and good culinary quality. It is drought resistant and has moderate resistance to common scab." It also says it has shallow eyes, which translates to easy peeling and/or scrubbing. 

So that one sounds like a definite contender for a red. There are also plenty of other links at that site to explore... Thanks geo!

ETA: plenty of other sites say that Norland is a good producer. They're probably easier to find locally than something like Red Cloud or Viking so maybe I'll give them a shot.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

elmtree3 said:


> This year I'd like to try Nicola, anyone else grown this variety?


I just came across this, from the link above. It says the yields are "very high." It looks like a good one.
http://www.aardappelpagina.nl/explorer/



I also saw this. From this link about how potatoes fight disease.
*10. *_*Nicola*_

*A 2007 Australian study found that the German-born Nicola *
*potato could be classed as food with a medium **Glycemic *
*Index**, meaning that it is digested more slowly and takes *
*longer to release glucose into the bloodstream than other *
*potatoes. This makes the Nicola potato good news for *
*diabetics who could take the opportunity to enjoy some *
*potato wedges sprinkled with olive oil.*


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

For those who like Yukon Gold, you might want to give Yukon Gem a try. It's an improved version of Yukon Gold and supposed to have much higher yields and better disease resistance.


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

I have done red pontiac and Yukon Gold. I am dreaming of my next Yukon Gold! I Love them! very nice flavor and the harvests were really good. I had more than a couple that were larger than the size of my fist! so good growing with low effort...


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Red Norland may be considered a low to intermediate yield only when compared to varieties which take a month or more to mature. Where you might get a tuber weighing a pound with Kennebec, Red Norland may only produce them half that size. However, you'd be digging and eating Red Norland before Kennebec is the size of a hen egg.

Martin


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Paquebot said:


> Red Norland may be considered a low to intermediate yield only when compared to varieties which take a month or more to mature. Where you might get a tuber weighing a pound with Kennebec, Red Norland may only produce them half that size. However, you'd be digging and eating Red Norland before Kennebec is the size of a hen egg.
> 
> Martin


They're my July/August treats. We eat about a half a fifty foot row at that time--sliced and drizzled with oil and garlic in the oven....potato salad at BBQ's, ......I like 'em fried, too. If I were the OP and had the space, I would plant them and maybe another early potato, for variety.....

geo


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Ok, ok, I believe ya. :bandwagon: 

here's what I'm getting -
Earlies: Red Norland and Satina
Mid Season: Adirondack Red, Daisy Gold, Kennebec, Nicola, and Yellow Finn 
Late: Desiree and possibly Bintje

After poring over potato lists all day, these look like they are all high yielding, good sized, shallow eyes, tasty, and some have extra nutritional benefits. 

Dangit. I was hoping to just get 2 or 3 and be done with it. This is almost as bad as paring down my tomato list.  Thanks a bunch for the help!


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## 606JAE (Dec 20, 2010)

we like the Kennebec the best, but if what you want is yield from my experience the best is red ponaic, grew them once did not like the flavor of the tators or roughness of the skin but boy did they produce. typically we get about 2 to 3 bushels per row, but we got 4-5 bushels on a couple of rows and a whopping 7 bushels on one 40 foot row of ponatics


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

paradox said:


> Anybody in zone 7B know which ones work well?


I'm in 7a and the heat can be a problem. When it hits 90 the plants stop producing. So each plant produces much less than I'm used to. Not much way around it. When we lived in Maine we had no problem growing lots of potatoes! This past year we had great success with Russian Fingerlings, a yellow fingerling that grew as bigger than a hand. We also grew Yukon Gold, and a basic Red with very low yields.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Whatever they are doing over in the Klamath Basin, they seem to have it figured out. I need to go over for a farm tour next year.


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## am1too (Dec 30, 2009)

happydog said:


> The last couple of years I've ordered seed potatoes from different online sources. I get carried away by the catalog descriptions and end up growing a dozen different varieties. A lot of them are disappointing, like the Blue Gold/Peter Wilcox and Red Bliss, which were both poor yielders for me. The Blue Golds were also the first to sprout in the root cellar.
> 
> I've realized that I don't have a gourmet palate. Pretty much all potatoes taste good to me. I don't detect subtle nuances like the "reminiscent of chestnut" flavor the catalogs go on about.
> 
> ...


Ah salesmanship!

I went to the library and found a book on taters. Very interesting. Can't get that kind of info from people in business.


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## Bret F (May 4, 2004)

I always seem to have too much going on to take care of the garden how I would like, so I started experimenting with different varieties with my minimalist approach.

I would only plant two varieties, side by side in rows and track which yielded best overall, with decent sized potatoes. 

The Pontiac seems to do the best in my garden, followed very closely by Yukon God.

YRMV


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

Thanks for the great thread! I didn't have much luck with taters last year, but no clue what they were! I REALLLY need to learn to LABEL. :huh:


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

Where do you guys like to order seed potatoes from?


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I just ordered from Territorial Seed for April delivery. They are not cheap, but I've always been happy with their quality. I've had horrible yield and fungal disease with locally bought seed potatoes (just bought locally, not grown locally).


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Kristinemomof3 said:


> Where do you guys like to order seed potatoes from?





Vosey said:


> I just ordered from Territorial Seed for April delivery. They are not cheap, but I've always been happy with their quality. I've had horrible yield and fungal disease with locally bought seed potatoes (just bought locally, not grown locally).


Doesn't matter where you order them from as many of the larger companies get their stock from the same wholesalers. A few grow their own and in turn also supply other companies. Remember to consider each purchase as if buying an OP seed. You buy them once and keep some to plant back the next year. Don't be influenced by those who say that your seed stock will become feeble or whatever if not refreshed by new stock as none of the commercial varieties are produced from seed. They are all clones with some going back 100 years or more and maintained as clones. Personally, I have about 15 varieties. Red Norland is the oldest having originally been bought in 1990. Production has not diminished in 24 years and expect the 25th year to be no different. 

Martin


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

I have a few yukon gold leftover that our pastor planted in our church garden. They were originally store bought potatoes that he took a chance with. Can I plant them this year? Whst about organic potatoes from Azure standard? Or should I buy "seed" potatoes?


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Kristinemomof3 said:


> I have a few yukon gold leftover that our pastor planted in our church garden. They were originally store bought potatoes that he took a chance with. Can I plant them this year? Whst about organic potatoes from Azure standard? Or should I buy "seed" potatoes?


Ah, the terminology...... Unlike tomatoes or lettuce, with potatoes, the usual "seed" is any potato tuber from last year that you put back into the soil. And, yes, they are clones that can live forever, if you treat them right. Yes, some potatoes flower and produce seeds like lettuce or tomatoes, and those tiny seeds are planted to produce more potato tubers. These new tubers contain DNA from the parents in different combinations and are not clones until the offspring tubers are replanted. 

Generally, a potato or seed tuber that is sold as "organic" should carry the label, USDA ORGANIC, or its Canadian equivalent. That seed tuber may be or not be a Certified Seed Potato--that is a different program run by the combined efforts of the different states and state universities as voluntary programs of the large scale potato growers, to ensure a set of uniform disease and variety purity standards. A Certified Seed tuber will usually come in a burlap bag with a blue label attached. (And that's where I get my "seeds" from each new season. It's an annual ritual, a rite of Spring, if you will.)

_ANY_ tuber from last year, so long as it has one viable eye left, and isn't completely dried up, _WILL_ grow and produce _SOMETHING_ if you plant it. Maybe that's God's way of making sure that any one of us, beginner to expert, can get at least something to eat. As time goes by, most of us will try to hedge our bets, by learning and choosing more ways to grow them.

geo


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