Starting True Potato Seed, growing new varieties of potato from true seeds

[@RollerPigg]

Where can you buy TPS?

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Hey Joe, Best source I am aware of is cultivariable.com . I think there are a few other smaller seed companies that sell it from time to time but I just googled it and couldn't find anything. There are sometimes vendors selling TPS on ebay, but DO NOT buy TPS from Europe, Russia, or Asia. The USDA will be knocking on your door and confiscate, and get all up in your business. Or you can join the Kenosha Potato Project FB group and get on the beginners seedtrain, but that's almost about to leave the station so get on it if you want to go that route.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Joe, I asked around at the KPP FB group and found a couple other sources. Tatermaterseeds is defunct, but this sources has TPS available from a couple of cool people. www.mariannasheirloomseeds.com/create-heirlooms.html There is TPS for sale from Doug Strong, Chris Homanics, and Nathan Pierce.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Joe, one other source I was told of is here. www.grandtetonorganics.com/Products/true-seed-from-potatoes.aspx Personally, this would be my last resort, they are selling 3 dried potato berries for $13. Extracting TPS from a dried berry is a total pain in the ass, a lot of hassle for $13 before shipping.

[@RollerPigg]

Great info, Thanks! One other question - why are these so insanely expensive? 7$ for 20 seeds? I was hoping to get my hands on a bulk amount (I'm kind of a 'prepper'). Are they always that much?

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Hey Joe, I hadn't looked at the Marianna's prices vs quantities. Looks like Doug Strong is charging the most, if you look at Chris' and Nathan's seeds you get 70-100 seeds per pack. The price is mostly a reflection of how niche an activity growing potatoes from seed is. How many home gardeners grow tomatoes from seed every year? Maybe several hundred thousand in the US (wild ass guess). Maybe 500-200 or so grow their own potatoes from seed. So very few people are looking to buy TPS, so if you are selling it, you need to charge enough to cover the considerable hassle of producing a crop for a tiny niche market. Hope that makes sense? If you want to get a supply of TPS very cheaply, the best way is to produce it yourself. You need to grow varieties of potato that reliably produce berries and TPS, which means you need them to be female fertile, and at least one of them needs to be able to produce pollen (lots of potatoes are male sterile although more modern varieties are much more fertile thank goodness). Good commonly available varieties to use are Katahdin, All Blue, Yukon Gold, King Harry, Magic Molly, and Adirondack Blue. If you can get your hands on a Sarpo variety, Sarpo Mira or Sarpo Axona, they are fantastic potatoes with elite genetics, but not easy to get your hands on in the US. Then just watch for berries and save your own seed, I've got a video on how I save TPS, and there are others on YT. Another good resource is the Kenosha Potato Project facebook group.

[@Berr3631]

I've just ordered Rebsie Farholm book so will be looking forward to that..Thank you for sharing and this video..

[@projectmalus]

That pink potato sure is a beauty, reminds me of an easter egg and I can see how young children would be inspired to take up gardening after seeing that. For me it was my mother's friend who grew these enormous squash, much bigger than I was, some of them deflating because they got too big I guess. After seeing those I had no choice but to garden. Thanks for sharing.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Sure thing Project Malus.

[@1stBumbleBeeMaster]

Awesome Video! I have been developing new varieties from TPS for such a long time now. Its hard to find other people interested in potato breeding apart from commercial growers which are often not very helpful with advice on how to get new varieties recognized. You would not believe the bureaucracy and red tape involved when you try to get a new variety recognized. Its hard work but worth doing. If you want a variety that will produce TPS that will produce exactly the same potatoes as the parent plant. It takes about 10-15 years to do You have to keep crossing potatoes from the same plant and not get cross contamination from other potatoes. Some Wwild potatoes in Peru will always produce true seeds but not if they get cross pollinated with another variety. I have a variety that has purple and white marble coloring flesh and very dark peel. It has been producing true seeds for about 7 years. I have two other varieties that have red and white peel and both of them are now starting to produce the same TPS but still get the odd variable. If you have the patience and time you can back breed almost any potato that flowers and fruits. I learned a lot from Tom Wagner back in the day and added my own methods. Last year was a very bad year for TPS production and baby seedlings as we had another drought in 2018 this side of the pond after a very cold march. I lost so many seedlings.

[@billastell3753]

It is fun growing seed from potatoes. I did this many years ago with seed that grew on my yellow fleshed potatoes. I forget which variety but it was either german butterball or Yukon gold spuds. Anyway the first year I saved a tuber from all the little plants. In proceeding years I culled annually those that were odd shaped or low yield and vigour in my heavy clay soil. Finally after about 4 years I had pretty vigour good producing spuds and at that point I began culling for shape. I like a relatively long potato for easy peeling. By about the 6th year I had a lovely spud that was the shape I liked and produced well. It does take a while but for those who garden for the fun it was well worth the effort if you have the space and time. Once again this year I've started some seed from a red sinned variety I like.

[@blinkspacestudio8892]

I am thinking of getting into breeding so thank you so much for all the references it is much appreciated.

[@SplitseedGarden]

Great points about commercial selection. Very different from home gardener or small farm desirable characteristics. I'd love to see your video about saving potato seed. I tried once but the birds got to my berries before I did lol.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

It wouldn't surprise me if they just fell off. Potato berries are kind of wussy and abort very easily, especially on commercial varieties. Some of the wilder,landrace types set lots more berries and hang onto them much tighter.

[@pcharliep61]

Hi, just started watching your playlist. I am curious to know what is the germination rate as you had a lot of seeds going into those small pots ? thanks.

[@DevaJones03]

very right about what commercial growers vs home growers should look for. I think some get lost in what commercial farmers look for when to be honest most of the potatoes imho in the store I don't care for. only about 2 varieties do I really like, but many of the other varieties that are not considered commercially viable are very tasty. never seen potatoes grown from seed before that's interesting. great vid

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I do understand why they have to focus on things other than taste. They need potatoes that will not get badly bruised or damaged when they are harvested and run through the conveyors etc and then piled up in big mountains in the storage facilities. They also breed much more for the potato chip and french fry processing than for fresh market, as more potatoes go into those than fresh. So there's a lot of things a market potato has to be able to handle before you can look at it at the supermarket etc, that a home grown potato doesn't need to worry about. So they have to focus on those things first, and then worry about flavor etc.

[@DevaJones03]

Yep you're right. Plus it leaves all the super tasty stuff for me to grow lol

[@MsBleau]

If only we could see the Myans gardens hundreds of varietys of everything They stored enough food for the whole village for 2 years. Truly a garden of eden this plan-it was at one time

[@dnlemag]

Hi @oxbowfarm. How often did you water them?

[@MyEconomics101]

Thanks for the educational content.

[@BillHimmel]

Can you sow the seed in the fall? Do the seeds survive the winter?

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Just a correction FWIW, not all potatoes are tetraploid, just most varieties that are commercially available in the USA are tetraploid. In fact, the Careta Amarilla I planted in this video are a diploid.

[@sasquatchdonut2674]

What soil do you use?

[@TheEmptynester]

Great to see you growing TPS. I just found you from the end of the video I just uploaded. Did you get them from the potato group on FB. Tree leaves started.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I'm on a couple of FB TPS groups, I do know Tree Leaves, and she's in several potato groups I'm in, so I'm not sure.

[@SimeonKelly]

makes me wish i had land to be able to give this a go. all i have is an apartment patio.

[@zepherzepher1228]

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[@zepherzepher1228]

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[@zepherzepher1228]

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[@zepherzepher1228]

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[@zepherzepher1228]

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[@marieroberts8132]

Want purple centered sweet potatoes

[@lqkitty9379]

Hello:) where did you put your tps seed while germinating? In a sunny window? Or in a cold place? Thanks:)

[@oxbowfarm5803]

We are a vegetable farm anyways, so we have a propagation greenhouse, you can just grow them the same way you would a tomato seedling more or less, but they like a cooler temperature and are very susceptible to damping off if they get overwatered.

[@lqkitty9379]

@@oxbowfarm5803 ohh. Okay:) Thank you!

[@abuyosr2781]

would you help me find tps

[@oxbowfarm5803]

HI Abu. The primary commercial source for TPS that I am personally aware of is Cultivariable.com

[@abuyosr2781]

@@oxbowfarm5803 thanks

[@SistaSarah]

what region are you in??? im in SACRAMENTO, California Zone 9B

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Hi Sista Sarah. I'm way north and cold compared to you. We're in Zone 5A. Doesn't feel much like spring here at the moment, had about a foot of snow in the last 12 hours or so. There's lots of wiggle room with TPS, I'm probably starting this first round ambitiously early, but last year I started them much later and had bad results due to a severe drought. So I'm starting some super early just in case, and I'll start some more later. But I've got tons of seed to play with.

[@SistaSarah]

OMG!!! the reason i asked is because you mentioned you had a drought last year and i just assumed 'maybe" California!!! I haven't ever seen snow fall here- and trust me if you've heard there was "it's a lie" it melts before it its the grown!!! lololol TPS seems like an awesome thing to do, I've only done the tuber. cant wait to see your end results! many blessings your garden Sista Sarah

[@zepherzepher1228]

HOW COOL YOUR IN OR NEAR MY ZONE

[@zepherzepher1228]

that was to Oxbow

[@trumplostlol3007]

Breeding potatoes is only viable if you have a very long potato growing season. I haven't even seen a potato flower EVER. LOL

[@coltstowell188]

Most of the potatoes in Idaho flower in June/July every year.