EARLY POTATO HARVEST, 2002
As usual, we planted several varieties of potatoes this year, among which were the magenta-skinned Caribe and the Cranberry Red. We planted these two in adjacent rows.
We use a trench system for planting our potatoes. After tilling the garden, we dig parallel potato trenches two feet apart using our Mantis tiller. Each trench is about three inches deep and six inches across. The seed potatoes are placed 18 inches apart in the trench and the dirt is pulled loosely over them. Each variety had 24 plants in its row. As we weed during the growing season, we pull the dirt towards the potato plants, hilling them about four to six inches above the garden floor.
We had moderate rain early in the season but then slipped back into the Maryland drought we've been experiencing for several years now. During the long dry periods, we'd put the sprinkler on the garden about every fourth day Given the lack of rain, we didn't expect a good yield from the potato patch.
These two varieties, along with the Yukon Gold, died back earlier than usual. We harvested them on the last Saturday in July. The output of each was beyond our expectations, about 42 pounds in each row. We divided each variety into two grades; Regular, potatoes big enough to peel and section, and Popcorn, smaller potatoes which could be boiled whole and served like new potatoes. The table below shows the number of pounds of each size for each variety.
|
REGULAR |
POPCORN |
| CARIBE |
33 |
9 |
| CRANBERRY |
31 |
11 |
The Caribe potatoes were very productive, and many are quite large, as large as a
big baker. Shown on the left in the picture, the color is an unusual deep purple outside, white inside. This
is a red potato type; it's quite thin-skinned, and the skin tends to rub
off. It develops large early, and makes productive new potatoes as well
as large storage potatoes. Die-back is early, middle to late July here in
Maryland, from a late April planting.
Cranberry potatoes, shown on the right in the picture, were also very productive, and large for a novelty potato. These are a red-type potato, and red is the relevant feature: they
are bright red outside and a definite pink inside. The color does not cook
away and results in pastel pink mashed potatoes or slices. The small, sliced potato in the picture is a Cranberry popcorn size which was boiled. The skin is
usually fairly thick, and very attractive with a peened, shiny red
appearence that holds well. There are a few russeted skin potatoes among the Cranberry, but most
of them have the attractive shiny bright red smooth skin. They die back in
mid-late July, same as the Caribe.
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