Pre-Potato Planting Prep

I love getting packages in the mail- especially when they're full of potatoes! Today, 12 lbs of potatoes arrived for me via UPS from Seed Savers Exchange- woohoo! (Aren't the neon mesh bags they came in sort of amazing?) After having planting potatoes for the past several years, it was a lot quicker this year deciding what varieties I wanted to grow.

Both Yukon Gold (80-90 days) and German Butterball (100-120 days) potatoes have yellow flesh, which I tend to prefer over white flesh. German Butterballs are described as "Russeted skin and buttery yellow flesh"- Mmmm! Mountain Rose (70-90 days) potatoes have a red skin and a pinkish flesh- I think they'll be really pretty in my favorite potato salad recipe! Rose Finn Apple potatoes (80-100 days) are a fingerling potato- also deemed as "perfect for potato salad". 

Another factor in my decision was the length of the growing season for each potato- Since I'll plant them at roughly the same time, I chose varieties that will have staggered harvest dates. I ended up ordering 2 and 1/2 lbs of each of these varieties. I'll be sharing some of the order with a neighbor who's also into gardening and is part of the Grower's Co-op group I mentioned in yesterday's post. Again-yay for sharing! :)

The next for these potatoes will be to get set out in the mudroom for a week- it's warmer out there, which will encouraged them to sprout. The day before I plant them, I'll cut the potatoes into smaller pieces- each piece will be about 2"and will have 1 or 2 eye buds. If the potatoes are really small, you can plant them whole. I'll probably cut most of mine in half. 

Are you planting any potatoes in your garden this year? If so, what varieties are your favorites?