THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503100102
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G11 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: WEEDER'S DIGEST
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
AFTER PROVIDING unusual potato varieties to this country's gardeners for eight years, Ronniger's says the public's taste for potatoes is changing.
Ronniger's, one of the world's largest potato breeders, filled 22,000 orders for seed potatoes last year. It reports this is what is happening in the potato world:
Awareness of potato varieties is expanding. It used to be there were three kinds: round whites, baking potatoes and reds. Gardeners and consumers have acquired a taste for more variety in color, form, texture, size and flavor. ``A potato is a potato'' is no longer true.
Yellow-fleshed potatoes are making their way into the market. Europeans long have preferred yellow potatoes to white. Americans are buying more yellows because they are attractive, flavorful, creamy and moist.
Fingerlings are becoming increasingly popular. Fingerlings are slender and lend themselves to attractive dishes. They are smooth, moist and delicious. While still novel or unheard of in some areas, they have become a high-demand product in others.
Colorful potatoes are in. Everyone is demanding the new potatoes with colorful skins. There also is strong interest in potatoes with different flesh colors. Typically a potato will range from snowy white to creamy inside. Now there is growing interest in bright interior colors such as yellow, pink and purple.
Home-grown and organically grown potatoes are sought after. Once people taste ``real potatoes,'' they want them again and again, Ronniger's claims.
More homeowners are beginning to grow potatoes. Ronniger's offers 255 varieties.
Because potatoes take more space than many vegetables, many gardeners quit growing them a quarter century ago. But with the fancy varieties, a few hills can make you a gourmet gardener.
Start with certified seed potatoes, because they're free of disease. If the seed potatoes are larger than an egg, cut them into 1-inch sections with one eye per section and allow them to dry for a day.
Plant potatoes in slightly acid soil. Don't add lime, wood ashes or fresh manure; use only rotted leaves and garden compost.
To grow them under a straw mulch, place them on the ground about a foot apart and cover with 6 to 8 inches of straw. If you want to plant them in the earth, place about 6 inches deep. In this area, they usually do best if planted on a mounded ridge of soil.
Watch for potato beetles, because they can be devastating. Sometimes hand picking them off works best. If an infestation is heavy, use an organic pesticide regularly.
Once the plants have flowered, you can begin looking for new potatoes. If you want to have some to store, wait until the plants die back before digging them.
For a copy of Ronniger's catalog and a listing of varieties, send $1 to Ronniger's, Star Route, Road 73, Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845. by CNB