Sunday, January 10, 2016

spud census

while i was planting the huaycu tubers i took a census of what was up and running in spud terms because it's something i need to know...a week after it was planted the early blue in the top photo is doing a fair job of leafing out...the ollala in the second photo is one of three i planted on the sixth of december and it is looking robust..it has sent out rhizomes just above the soil surface so i hilled it to cover them and stimulate more rhizome growth farther up the stem...more rhizomes = more tubers...the third photo is a potato plant that has grown from a tuber that was produced by a plant i grew form seed last season so i have no idea what it is...potatoes are every bit as genetically divers as apples so when you plant a tuber that isn't a clone ( i.e. from a plant grown from true seed ) no one knows what it is without extensive genetic testing...we won't be doing that...we will be using any tubers it produces as seed for an outdoor season and then eat them...the last three photos are of elmer's blue potatoes and they are coming along...they were planted on the sixth of last month as well...they aren't as far along as the ollalas planted the same day because the ollalas had already sprouted and the elmer's were simply cut and calloused pieces of tuber that had evinced no development yet...no worries, they'll catch up.

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