In today's Victoria newspaper there is an excellent article about potatoes, specifically a European variety called Bintje. The writer raves about them. I am really keen to try growing these next season. Does anyone out there grow them ? I've scoured the net trying to find a source of seed. Anyone know where they are available ?
Van Noort Bulb Co. (Langley, BC) lists them in their Spring 2009 catalog. They are a supplier to a lot of the local nurseries. You should be able to contact your local nurseries to see if it is possible to bring in this variety this year.
Hi Jascha : Thanks for your reply. I actually contacted the author of the Times Colonist piece who emailed me a suppliers name. Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes in Bowden Alberta was her suggestion. If you are interested in potatoes they have a great website. I will also be in touch with Van Noort to see if I can get their latest catalogue. Thanks again for your help.
I will also rave about them. My dad grew them and I have some in my garden. They are an all rounder and taste slightly earthy. They are also a nice even size and have shallow eyes and creamy yellow flesh.. They are also big producers in good soil. For those of you in Australia they can be got from Tasmania and are apparently an old Dutch variety http://taspotatoes.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3 Liz
Hi Liz. NIce to hear from you in Aus / Tasmania ? We have over a foot of snow on the ground at the moment but I'm longing for those sunny Spring days when I can get out and start digging. Along with putting potatoes in the ground, this year for the first time I'm going to try growing some in a " potatoe box " Apparently this is a great way to get a whole lot of potatoes from a 2 foot square area. Cheers.
Hello yes I am from Aust but live in Victoria next state up:) I grow my spuds in tyre circles (car tyers about 3 high) This season I found some fairly rigid root barrier rolls about a foot and a half wide. Have used this for several plants including potatoe. My main reason was to be able to keep things watered as we are on fairly heavy restrictions. The tub or box or tyre works really well. I just put them in among my normal garden and harvest late autumn. That way it also stops the place from looking like a used car lot. Liz
I have grown Bintje off and on over the years. Bintje is a yellow variety of Dutch origin with a high protein content. The problems I found are that they are prone to scab and there are more medium to small potatoes than larger ones. Bintje seed potatoes are always available at one of the garden centres here. Canadian Tire also carries seed potatoes in the spring. They have All Red and Blue Russian along with the more common varieties. The one I liked best this year was Satina. Described as a yellow potato but not very yellow to my eye. They were the least prone to scab of the five varieties I grew, were quite productive and all were of a resonably good size.
Cowboy hello, I have always had mass amounts of potato evenly sized (put thumb and forefinger together of each hand) but I think the trick is very good soil. In my case they are in red volcanic with lots of manure and compost. I don't get blemished skin either in fact I eat them skins and all in most cases. Try using a container and see if that improves your yields. Liz
Liz, I suspect that your soil is more acidic than Western Canadian soils which are alkaline - pH around 8.0.
Yes they are. It's known as potatoe country. My dad always added some lime. I don't basically because I am lazy and I guess the chook (chicken) manure will do it. Good luck with your crop next season Liz
