True Potato Seeds

Windmills · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:10 am Post subject: True Potato Seeds

Does anyone know of a web site that sells true potato seeds?

strider3700 · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:31 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

No.

May I ask Why?
_________________
shame on us, doomed from the start
god have mercy on our dirty little hearts

SILENTTODD · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:33 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

What's a "true potato seed"? You plant even the eyes of pealings you end up with potatoes.

Try it!
_________________
Skeptical scrutiny in both Science and Religion is the means by which deep thoughts are winnowed from deep nonsense-Carl Sagan

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5429 Location: Oklahoma

Thanks much for the interesting question. Here's how to get them on your own:

http://www.growseed.org/potato.html

You have to start with seed potatoes, but if you can get some of them to fruit you can breed your own from actual seeds. Apparently they need to be fermented a bit, like tomato seeds (mimicking a trip through a digestive system). I like the idea of developing our own varieties!
_________________
"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young

Tanada · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:38 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

Grifter · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:00 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

you should note that the potato fruits are poisenous. make you really sick.

nocar · Intermediate Crude Joined: Nov 05, 2004 Posts: 680

I have never tried it (only toyed with the idea) but it is said to be real lottery what you get when you plant true potato seeds. When you plant potatoes as usual, you get clones, with the same genetics as the ones you plant. True seeds usually give strange and low quality potatoes. Only if you are very lucky you get a good sort - perhaps a brand new variety.

nocar

WisJim · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:53 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

I have tried it, and had little luck. I get very poor germination with the true seeds--and I have been saving my pepper and tomato seeds since the early 1980s, so I am not totally without experience saving similar seeds. So, if you do decide to include potato true seeds in a storage situation, practice a few years first--save seeds, grow them out, save another generation, etc., so you can be sure it is worth doing, and that you will have viable seeds.

Andlet us know if it works for you--that is the way new varieties are developed.

theozarker · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:06 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

If you're talking about non-hybrid seeds, you might check out places that sell heirloom seeds. There's a thread that lists them here on one of the forums, I think.

Linda
_________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they are the ones who let the light in. - Maxine

FoolYap · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:04 pm Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

BobWallace · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 01, 2007 Posts: 187

Territorial and Johnny's are my favorite places for seeds. Both have given me good service and good products over the years.

Pine Tree Seeds is a good source as they sell smaller amounts for less money in their packages. I can't use up some types of seeds very quickly. Pine Tree isn't as good about getting order in the mail quickly as the other two.

(As for the "world is going to crash paranoia" - I'm not interested in that hobby. Just gardening.... ;o)

theozarker · Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:59 am Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, www.rareseeds.com , is also a good place for "pure" seeds in smaller packets. They do sell seeds by the pound, but their small packets are great for home gardening. Although, in looking through their latest catalog, they don't have potato seeds. Sorry.

Linda
_________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they are the ones who let the light in. - Maxine

Windmills · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject: Re: True Potato Seeds

I think it's probably better to use true seeds that you order from a seed company rather than those you develop on your own from planting commerical seed tubers. The commercial strains and others developed to be planted using the tubers may produce few seeds, and if they do, many of them may be sterile. If you want to grow and save true potato seeds, ordering a line of seed grown for that purpose seems to make more sense to me.

Does anyone know if you pile up soil on true seed plants the same as you do tuber-grown potatoes?

Tez · Coal Joined: Jan 28, 2008 Posts: 1

ECHO Seeds is offering one cultivar, 'Catalina'. It looks like they used to offer more but I could only find 'Catalina'.

http://echobooks.org/product_info.php?cPath=25_68_107_104&products_id=865

I have been looking for a good source myself...

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 476

Nichols Garden Nursery is local to me and carries a great variety of open pollinated seeds, nice people. They have two varieties of potato seed,

Nichols Garden Nursery

I get most of my commercial seeds from them or Territorial.