Seed Potatoes

All seed potatoes are SOLD OUT as of March 29, 2010!  

Thank you for your interest, and check with us in November for our 2011 list.

Due to early Spring weather...seed potatoes will start shipping after the Easter weekend.  Any orders that combined Jerusalem artichokes and seed potatoes will be shipped mid-to-late April.

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Hope Seeds is pleased to offer certified organic, CFIA-certified seed potatoes! 
These heritage and organically-adapted varieties were grown by Karen and Brock Davidge of Good Spring Farm in Keswick Ridge, NB.  Good Spring Farm was one of the first certified organic farms in NB, and has been selling their superior quality potatoes, vegetables and poultry at the Boyce Farm Market in Fredericton for decades.
 
Good Spring Farm struggled with wet, cool weather in 2009 (like most of us on the East Coast) and as a result had some crop failures and reduced harvests.  Thankfully, their practice of organics and planting a diverse crop ensures that we still have some spuds to share.

Info for 2010 Potato Orders:

• Earliest shipping date is APRIL 19th, 2010.  Risk of spuds freezing in transit limits how early we can ship—we want you to get tubers that will grow!
• Reduced availability of bulk amounts (no 20 lb or 50 lb units this year).
• Please use the POTATO/JA order form to place your order.
• No shipments to addresses outside Canada!

Jump to Seed Potato varieties and price list

Why choose certified organic seed potatoes?  Organically grown potatoes have a higher fibre density which means they have more flavour.  They also have better developed natural resiliency to pest and disease pressure, being grown without the dependency on synthetic chemicals.  Prevention is the key to good organic practice, and with potato production that means:

• Well-spaced crop rotations keeping potatoes and other solonacea plant family members (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers) apart, 
• Starting with good soil fertility, organic matter and strong soil biology, 
• Using CFIA certified stock seed which is monitored for bacterial ring rot and other diseases,
• Using compost tea and copper sprays to prevent blight, and 
• Regular crop inspections and equipment sanitation to ensure potential problems are caught early on.  

Good Spring Farm works to include a diverse selection of potatoes into their production system - another great way to buffer the impact that pests and disease can have on a crop.  Hope Seeds is happy to include 7 of the many varieties that Good Spring Farm grows.

How do you know which potato is for you?  With all the variety, it may be hard to choose!  Good Spring Farm sells their potatoes based on cooking quality.  Boilers are potatoes that have a higher moisture content, so they tend to hold together well when added to chowders and soups, and are nice moist bakers.  For folks that are trying to cut down on butter and fats, boilers don't need as much sour cream as others to help them go down - and if they're organically grown they've got all the flavour you need anyway!  Midways are less moist, and are fluffy when mashed, and a baker that likes to soak in a little bit of butter.  They're also kinda waxy which makes them excellent for potato salads.  I like these as roasted potatoes (along with that grass-fed beef roast, peas, carrots and homemade rolls on a Sunday afternoon....mmmm....). Then there's the Dry potatoes which will fall apart in the pot if over-boiled, but they make one heckuva good fluffy baked potato!  I've listed the cooking quality beside each variety below.

Another way to characterize potatoes is by length of growing season.  As Karen says "If you can get your seed in the ground by mid-May, and in ideal conditions  (i.e. not too...whatever), you can start getting a crop by July with some varieties."    I've also listed the growing season characteristic below.

A note about growing:  General practice is to cut seed potatoes into peices approximately 2" across with at least 1 eye.  Cut your seed the day before (or at least a couple hours) before planting to give the cut side a chance to heal over.   Spacing peices approximately 8-10" apart in rows will get you about 10' planted from 1 lb. of potatoes, 25-30' planted from 3 lbs.  The exception are the fingerlings (Russian Banana) which will plant a longer row from the same weight.   Plant as soil warms up in those last couple weeks before your last frost date.  Once plants pop up to about 8" high, you can hill the plants to the last set of leaves, encouraging tuber growth along the buried stem.  I usually mulch with straw or old hay at this point as well - helps keep the soil cooler and moist, but you need to keep an eye out for blight in really wet weather.  Once foliage starts to loose it's vibrant green (goes a bit duller, yellow), you can start harvesting!  Dig around in the soil with your hands to search out early new potatoes (and leave the plants in the ground), or wait until plants die back completely for larger fall storage tubers.

A note to international customers: You guessed it - we can't ship it.  Sorry, but Hope Seeds does not send potatoes, garlic or Jersualem artichokes over the border. For an excellent source of double-certified seed potatoes across the line, check out our friends Jim & Megan Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, Maine.

Seed Potatoes

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MIX-IT-UP!                                                                                                      Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 29-Mar-2010! Can't decide?  Want to try a few?  Choose 3 different varieties, and we'll send you 1 lb. of each for a bargain price!  You can pick an early, mid-season and late.  How about a red, yellow and blue?  It's up to you!  *Pink Fir Apple not included*

YUKON GOLD (Dry, early)                                                             Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 11-Mar-2010! Yukon Gold is a variety that everyone knows!  Developed in Guelph, ON, this potato offers uniquely dry texture for an early-maturing potato that is also an excellent keeper.  Great baked, boiled, mashed or fried.  Photo courtesy Vesey's Seeds.

NORLAND (Boiler, early)                                                                   Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 20-Feb-2010! Norland is my standard new potato variety.  Red skin with a creamy white flesh, Norland is one of the earliest setting with new potatoes ready in mid-July.  Not the best keeper.    Photo courtesy Vesey's Seeds.

CARIBE (Boiler, early)                                                                  Certified Organic CROP FAILURE - try Norland in its place! Deep blue/purple skin like the All-Blue, but the flesh is bright white.  An excellent choice for using in soups, however I like a creamy mashed potato and Caribe does it for me!

ONAWAY (Boiler, early)                                                                    Certified Organic CROP FAILURE - try Norland or Yukon Gold in its place! A high-yeilding variety with generally uniform round tubers.  White skin, white flesh - a good ol' potato.  Bred by the USDA in Maine, registered in Canada in 1976.  Best for fresh eating.

ROSE GOLD (Midway, mid season)                                            Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 2-Mar-2010! Here's a lovely tuber that matures mid-season and has a mid-dry texture.  Rose Gold's pretty pink skin with vibrant yellow flesh brings Good Spring Farm's market customers in, while the great flavour and versatile cooking qualities brings their customers back.

CAROLA (Boiler, mid-season)                                                      Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 2-Mar-2010! Carola has a lovely, sunny yellow flesh with a nice creamy texture making this potato a smooth  one for frying or in German-style potato salad.  Originally from Germany, and my favourite all-purpose spud.

RHINE RED (Mid-season)                                                                   Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 1-Mar-2010! Kind of like the more popular variety Chieftan, Rhine red has red skin, white flesh - a good one for baking and mashing.  LIMITED QUANTITY- you snooze, you lose!

KENNEBEC (Midway, mid-season)                                             Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 29-Mar-2010! This is one of the more common varieties found on the market, and one of Good Spring Farm's best sellers.  Versatile, Kennebec does well baked or mashed with a fluffy texture.

ALL-BLUE (Midway,mid to late season)                          Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 11-Mar-2010! Deep blue/purple skin, and purple flesh throughout.  You definitely won't see this at the co-op, but will turn your dinner into a 5-star meal with All-Blue.  A good one to combine with Carola, Rhine Red and Kennebec for a multi-coloured potato salad (skins-on, of course!).

BELLISLE (Dry, late)                                                                Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 17-Mar-2010! I had to laugh when Karen described Belleisle as "rippin' dry"!  These guys will soak up any amount of sour cream, butter, cheese - you name it.  Bred by Agriculture Canada right here at the Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, NB in 1958.   Performs very well in organic production, a tough guy that doesn't bruise easily, and stores well for winter eating.  Slightly netted buff skin, white flesh, oblong tubers.

PINK FIR APPLE (Fingerling, late season)                      Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 25-Feb-2010! Our favourite fingerling potato, hands down.  Why?  Let me count the ways:  Prolific producers (heavy yields per plant), shows resistance to blight, unique shape, gorgeous blush-pink skin around sunny-yellow flesh, great boiler, excellent roaster!  Heritage variety that I first tried thanks to Garrett Pittenger of Seeds of Diversity Canada.

MIX-IT-UP!                                                                                                      Certified Organic SORRY...Sold out by 29-Mar-2010! Can't decide?  Want to try a few?  Choose 3 different varieties, and we'll send you 1 lb. of each for a bargain price!  You can pick an early, mid-season and late.  How about a red, yellow and blue?  It's up to you!  *Pink Fir Apple not included*