EDMONTON – Market gardeners who plan to sell fresh potatoes can choose from many varieties.
“Our tissue culture bank distributes more than 70 varieties every year,” said Patricia McAllister, a seed potato specialist from Alberta Agriculture in Edmonton.
“I think this year there’s 91 potato varieties available in the province.”
However, seed potatoes can’t be ordered overnight.
“Potatoes require a lot of advanced planning. Someone had to have started that in a greenhouse three or four years ago. Planning well in advance and being aware of changes in the marketplace are important,” she said.
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“Because of small-scale variety production, you may need to purchase a higher class of seed. It can add costs, but if it’s a variety you can market for an increased value, maybe it’s worth it.”
The size of a seed potato order is another factor. While large-scale commercial growers may order truckloads of one specific variety for their farms, market gardeners or producers for roadside sales may only want 100 pounds, which might not be worth a seed producer’s time. McAllister advised market gardeners to work together to form larger bulk purchases.
Varieties now available in Canada include Russet, red, round white and yellow, and then there’s Shepody.
“Shepody tastes pretty good and when I grow it in my research trials it’s the number one variety that people like to take home. It’s unique. It was released as an early processor but in Ontario it’s one of their number one fresh potato varieties.”
McAllister made the following comments on specific varieties:
Russet Burbank
Their long dormancy means a long growing season. The longer it stores without sprouting, the longer it’s going to take to grow in the field. There’s lots of yield potential in this variety, formerly known as Netted Gem.
It’s probably the most common multi-purpose potato. It processes well, bakes well and boils up well. However, the skin, which is the healthiest part, tastes bad. It doesn’t like inconsistent moisture. After 175 millimetres of rain in nine days this summer, McAllister had the knobbiest netted gems she’d ever seen.
Russet Norkotah
It tastes like dirt but has a high yield potential and mid-season maturity. It is good for baking, but poor to moderate at best for boiling.
Ranger Russet
It has a short dormancy and good yield potential and is mostly used for early processing right out of the field. It has to be sold by the end of February, unless growers plan to apply a chemical to reduce sprouting.
Shepody
It is susceptible to scab because of its smooth skin. Tubers can grow large – bigger than your feet – but some people like those big potatoes because they feed a family of four. It has a flavour that a lot of people like, but has not been typically sold in market gardens. It’s good for baking, boiling and processing, and is one of the top rated fresh potatoes grown in Ontario.
Atlantic
It is high yielding, but mostly used for export to Mexico as a chipping potato. It can get dry with a high specific gravity, but in Eastern Canada it is used as a round, white, fresh marketing potato. Mexico has strict rules for shipping and Canada grows a lot of Atlantics that don’t meet those Mexican rules. As a result, this variety is easy to find.
Norland
It is high yielding, said McAllister , who once had a 90-day harvest come out at 24 tonnes per acre. Colour retention is a problem. It’s also susceptible to silver skerf.
After-cooking blackening, or ACB, can be a problem in the spring. Potatoes are alive and membranes start to break down as they age. As a result, they turn black when boiled. This can be fixed by adding lemon juice or vinegar to a pot of water, which is a great hint to tell customers when selling them fresh potatoes that have been stored for a long time. It will eliminate the problem, but a lot of reds start to suffer from ACB around the end of March.
It has fair cooking qualities and is great for scalloped potatoes and boiling, but it’s wet for baking.
Yukon Gold
It is supposed to be high yielding and mid-season, but McAllister said she has never seen that. They’re high yielding if allowed to grow the size of your head, but tend to have a lower tuber set, get lots of disease and must be managed carefully. McAllister doesn’t consider them a mid-season potato. Usually they’re later.
They do have a longer dormancy, so they can be stored longer. They’re scab susceptible and the tubers get large. They’re also dry and will turn to wallpaper paste if boiled fast.
Gold Rush
It tends to be blockier, uniform, resistant to common scab and tastes good. It looks like a russet, but bakes, boils and has flavour. Flesh is white. Works well for small-scale production. It doesn’t have a long storage window and should be gone by the end of February.
AC Stampede Russet
It came out of the Agriculture Canada Lethbridge Research Centre’s breeding program and has good flavour, but McAllister isn’t sure it will find a place in the market. Potatoes need an export or processing market in order to be mass produced and while promoters thought they had a processing market, the United States can’t get specific gravities. McAllister said it has problems, but apparently has good flavour.
Eramosa
While some early harvested potatoes taste like dirt or a little too organic for McAllister’s tastes, this one has a nice flavour and boils up beautifully, but its only market is early fresh.
Kennebec
It was grown on the East Coast as a processor at one point, but predominantly now for export. It has a high yield potential and is used for fresh. It’s the one seen on the Earl’s restaurant chain menu.
Warba
McAllister called it the ultimate in ugly potato. Poor tuber shape and deep eyes. It’s OK to throw in the pot, but if you have to peel it, this is not your potato. British Columbia uses it as its main early variety, but soft rot is common. It’s susceptible to rhizoctonia so it’s not suitable for planting in cold soil. Some people like it as their early variety, but McAllister said it’s not her first choice.
Other varieties of note include Bintje, Red Pontiac, Russian Blue, Banana, French Fingerling, Satina and Calwhite. Green Mountain has great taste and is McAllister’s favourite, but it has disease problems.
Many private varieties are available, but in some cases companies don’t want to sell them to small-scale market gardeners. However, she said some new yellow varieties have potential.
For more information on varieties registered and available in Canada, check the Potato Growers of Alberta and Canadian Food Inspection Agency websites.
