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Elongated Red Diploid TPS Comparison
The TPS seedlings in my garden have grown into large potato plants. These two plants growing next to each other are from the same lot of Elongated Red Diploid TPS. Since the foliage and growth pattern of each plant has been very similar, I was surprised to see such a large difference in flower color. The flowers…
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6 Week Photo Update
These photos were taken May 9th. They are the same pairs of seedlings as in previous posts. A few days later, I planted them out into the garden. The seedlings were starting to send out stolons at the base of the plant. Stolons are sideways shoots of the potato that form tubers when buried underground. If stolons are…
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5 Week Update
Here is an update showing the seedling growth after 5 weeks from seed. Each type of TPS has a slightly different growth pattern. Variation between TPS seedlings of the same type is less distinct.
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See How They Grow
Here is a photo update on how the TPS seedlings are growing. These little plants were just tiny seeds one month ago. (Growing note: I add more soil to the pots as the seedlings get bigger. The pots are about halfway full of soil to start with.)
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Sprouting TPS
I sowed my first batch of TPS seeds for 2015 on March 21. Here they are 10 days later. Same as last fall, the first seedling emerged about one week after sowing. These seedlings are a variety from Tom Wagner called “Skagit Beets.” As the name suggests, this variety is supposed to produce red skinned tubers with pink to red…
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Details from First TPS Growing Experience
Attention to detail is a phrase that is tossed about quite frequently. In this case, it means noting and recording the differences of each TPS seedling that is grown out. Since there are variations between each plant, it is essential to record the important details of each one. If you do not know which potato…
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Growing True Potato Seedlings
Last year was the first time I saved true seeds from my potato plants. After harvesting the berries and extracting the seeds it was still only October of 2014. There I was with perfectly good potato seeds and a whole winter to wait before I could plant them outside. So I did what any other…
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How to Save True Potato Seeds
Take a moment to picture a person dressed in a white lab coat surrounded by stainless steel surfaces, glass beakers and test tubes. I am not that person! My goal is to make growing potatoes from true seeds easy and accessible to the home gardener. Extracting TPS from potato berries can be as simple or…
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Potato Berries! Here is where it all begins…
Imagine the possibility of holding hundreds of pounds of potatoes in just one hand. Sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it? But this is exactly why I am interested in growing potatoes from true seeds. True potato seeds, or TPS, are small seeds that have tremendous potential for home gardeners. Buying traditional potato seed tubers every year from online retailers is prohibitively expensive even before adding…