"unimproved" primitive cultivar

i received my government spuds back in april and among the varieties were two of the "unimproved" ( in other words not artificially selected for marketable traits...they are not crossbred with other varieties...they are as the evolved naturally ) primitive cultivars, yema de huevos...as i suspected ( i have planted these before ) they were already chitting when they arrived ( "unimproved" you eat them or plant them....storage long term [not that there is any real long term storage method for spuds]is not an option )...so i planted them immediately...i was concerned at the viability of the small one ( it could not have been more than 3/8" in diameter ) however i put it in a peat pot in the basement...the larger one sprouted and grew quickly ( "unimproved" means they are viny..like a wild potato...rather than a stand up sort of plant grown from a clone )...the samll one languished...so i was pleasantly surprised to find it was indeed a viable tuber when i looked in on it this morning and found a sprout..so i cleaned out a container...added fresh garden soil and compost...and planted the both of them together...they are in charge of their season now...we'll see what they do with it.

another five days in spudland

the top two photos are an ollala potato on christmas eve and today...same goes for the yema de huevos in the second set and the red pontiac in the third...now numbering nineteen plants in various stages...the early blue are winding down while these are just getting started...success isn't guaranteed but things are well underway...time and a little patience ( and not much water ) should pay off.

plant/replant perennials ( and an exception )

when i dug up the russet potato plant that was a volunteer from last season i discovered it had volunteered again ( top photo ) so i cleaned out a container, drilled more drainage holes ( second photo )...tossed in some fresh soil and compost and planted it for the winter seed potato project ( third and fourth photos ) parker likes russets so we can get a fair amount of seed for her to plant in the community garden next spring...while i was out there i noticed the yema de huevos plant i put out to grow this summer was nowhere near dying back and had, in fact, produced three new plants...obviously the first plant had set tubers but why were they sprouting at the end of the season...well...i learn stuff every day in the garden ( universe in microcosm )and today is no exception...turns out that yema de huevos ( which are a direct ancestor of yukon golds....just saying ) are classified as solanum tuberosum group phureja...why? because they produce tubers that do not go dormant...they would not winter over outside and come up next spring because as soon as the tubers reach a critical size they sprout...this would explain why they were already well sprouted when the potato introduction station package containing them arrived at my door and why they refused to stop sprouting after last fall's harvest...they are grown in temperate regions o0f the andean climate gradient where year-round cultivation is possible...i am smarter today because i went out in the yard...imagine that.

potatoes and teosinte

the early blue in the top photo are doing well as well as the others in the bushel basket...the two plants on the left of the second photo are yema de huevos i planted on the ninth of this month...the ollala in the third photo are progressing...but very slowly...and there is definite movement in the teosinte seed i soaked five days ago...more viable seed makes the gardener happy and if i can give more plants a head start on the long tesointe season the more likely there will be seed ears earlier...human intervention in the life ancient corn.

second indoor generation?

after four days in a box the smaller yema de huevos potatoes i harvested on christmas eve had begun to turn soft so, despite the early hour, i decided it was time to replant the first wave ( the larger ones are still chitting in the box and i will try to wait for sprouts before planting...they are greening which will help defend them against any virus or fungus they encounter while sprouting...green is good in this case )...the empty bushel baskets have been drying ( i dumped the soil in the compost bin out back )for four days so they should be okay...i took one and put a layer of charcoal in the bottom to absorb excess moisture...i bought a bag of "all natural" charcoal at a local home improvement store ( the only place i have found it so far ) because it does not have the chemicals producers like kingsford put in their charcoal to facilitate lighting and so will not damage the tubers...then i mixed compost and potting soil in the basket...compost alone is a bit too heavy and compacts a bit too readily for sprouts...i poked my right index finger in the mix up to the second joint ( about two inches) and dropped the tubers in and covered them...the compost and potting soil had been outside and were frozen when i brought them in..thawing produced a lot of condensation both inside and outside the bags ( wet floor in the plant room ) so the soil is moist enough that i did not have to water...i will be sparing in that until i see green emerging...don't want to rot the tubers...so now the hard part...we wait...the thermometer in the plant room has been reading a steady temperature around sixty degrees fahrenheit...forty degrees is the minimum germinating soil temperature and they really don't like it hot...we should be okay... more as ( hopefully ) it comes up____________as an afterthought, i forgot to mention that i did not completely fill the basket which was done to a purpose...no tuber will grow below the depth that i planted these at so when the emerge these guys are going to be hilled mercilessly to generate as many tubers for spring planting outdoors as i can manage...i am spud greedy.

small potatoes

are fine with me...results are results at this point in the winter...the yema de huevos in one of the baskets had died back thoroughly and so i dug for tubers this morning and...hey presto! spuds...small as they may be ( and the crop i brought in from outside weren't exactly huge ) they will sprout and that is what matters at this point...nine so far...there are a couple of plants that haven't died back completely but i do believe i will be digging them today anyway...in the course of the harvest i found three larger and very soft tubers that basically collapsed as i dug them out...this has me worried about viruses so i will dig the remaining plants today ...i brought in a frozen forty pound chunk of compost from the back of my truck ( it is minus two faherenheit outside my house right now ) and as soon as it thaws i will be replacing the soil in one basket to replant the harvest...that compost can go out in the yard come spring removed from any potato patch i plant...or, perhaps, i will just dump it in the compost bin for a bit of heat sterilization before it gets run through any plants...if i can produce another crop of tubers under the light these spuds will go out into the gardens ( since we are intercropping in the community garden some will find a home there and there hasn't been a potato in the perennial garden project ( and they are perennials ) in a number of years and i am inclined to think it is time..they are smallish potatoes and ancestors of yukon golds ( an ancestor domesticate/domesticate comparison? we grew yukon golds in the community garden very successfully in the community garden last season...something to consider since i have a reliable local source of yukons....more on the replant and the rest of the potato projects as the compost thaws...parts of the 2014 season are coming together...happy holidays everyone.

basement potatoes

unlike the winter wheat in the iuncg ( or what's planted in the ground in my back yard for that matter ) the containerized winter wheat is showing serious signs of dormancy...fall planting was seriously disrupted last year and i didn't grow any wheat this season, but the year before all the wheat, in beds or containers, stayed active all winter...so this is different...down in the basement in the meantime the potatoes are shedding their bottom leaves as they develop new growth...i had to raise the lights a few inches yesterday as the taller plants were touching the bulbs...so we have growth and that is pleasing...the teosinte is still green and still has seventeen ears...how long its season can be extended in artificial light is anybody's guess ( although if i wrote mary eubanks a polite enough email i bet she'd tell me...for someone who has no clue who i am she has repeatedly been more than helpful and generous with her time and information )...so far we are doing well downstairs..hopes are high.

expanding light

the yema de huevos potatoes weren't going to stand for any of this storage business...they were going to grow...NOW!..( when they arrived at my house they were sprouting in the box they came in and they were planted that day )...so they were planted in containers and when the weather turned brought in under the lights...a third light has been added to allow better conditions all around for the basement population...all forty-six potato plants and their attendant green manures seem well, if crowded, and, if we can come up with a workable watering schedule, it looks like it could all pan out...it would ( if my assessment of the outdoor season holds for an artificial indoor one ) mean another generation of finished tubers in january which would lead to a replanting ( and a bit of consumption this time...they are ancestors of yukon gold potatoes and i am told they are quite good )and yet another generation done in time for april planting out doors...if it comes off i will be happy, if no-one else...the indoor tesointe is well and all the plants are aphid free as near as i can discern..still green ( unlike its outdoor relative in the fifth photo ), if not exhibiting new growth and all seventeen ears are intact...the drive for mature seeds and a second generation of teosinte completely produced in northwest indiana grinds on...stay tuned for a success/failure assessment as we move forward.

down stairs and under the lights

the freeze is on tonight and there may be snow tomorrow ( or so i hear ) so i moved the potted teosinte and the relentless yema de huevos potatoes indoors after work...even if it doesn't freeze the decreasing day length had both the teosinte and the green manures in the basket with the potatoes starting to die back so i wanted to get them under some longer light...i will be hanging another fixture to increase the exposure for the teosinte as soon as i get back tot he hardware store and pick up a power cord to electrify the thing...i gave them another dousing with the oil soap insecticide after i brought them in and will be far more vigilant on the aphid front than i was last time around...i would certainly like to succeed with this batch since i got no ears last season and a multiplicity this one...who knows when the chance will reappear? while i was down there i checked on the potato storage project..the early blue and the ollala potatoes are all solid and unshriveled in their low light, herbally protected boxes on the shelf...only six more months to go before they are replanted...i am curious to see how many ( if any ) generations of yeme de huevos pop up before then...more on this adventure later for those who are interested.