Mt. St. Helens

[freddiefalcon]

Last year, I planted some Mt. St. Helens TPS. I was looking for a deep red colored potato. Due to excess rain, only three plants survived. The tubers on these three plants were quite small, and the skin color was a fairly light red color. In fact, one had a very light rose colored skin, but it was also rather productive.

I am currently pulling sprouts from the small potatoes of all three plants. Since the quantity was limited, I still do not know how dark the flesh is on these potatoes (only know the skin is a lighter red color than I expected). After a couple of years when I am able to harvest berries from the plants, will any of the TPS from these three plants ever produce a dark colored red potato (since dark red was part of the parentage), or will I primarily be left with light red skins (and most likely light red flesh) on these potatoes?

[gardensup]

If the tubers from which you are taking your pull sprouts are light coloured, then the flesh is likely to be somewhat light coloured as well. My experience with this variety when planting from TPS is that you get some light coloured ones like you described plus some dark red ones (skin and flesh). For me, I had about 50% light and 50% dark.

If you save your own TPS seeds at some point from your existing plants, I would think there would be a tendency for lighter versus darker tubers. Then again, you never know.

My suggestion would be to plant a few more of the original seeds (if you have any left) since there should be good potential there. I have heard that choosing the darkest of the seeds could increase your chances of getting darker tubers. Not sure if there is any scientific proof though.

I agree with your comment that this variety is quite productive.

[freddiefalcon]

Gardensup,

Thanks for the reply. I planted some of the original seed this year, but I didn't get any to germinate.

[gardensup]

I have just harvested my 2014 crop and Mt St Helens was my second highest producer. I like it because it has long storage and decent flavour. The plants are healthy and robust but it's weakness seems to be that it suffers from significant scab. I realize that this is more cosmetic than serious but I always like to have my potatoes look as appealing as possible. Has anyone else observed scab on their crop or could this just be due to my local soil and weather conditions?

[sweetquietplace]

I LOVE Mt St Helens. Certainly one of the stars of my potato patch. The soil is acid and clay which I sprinkle with gypsum. I've just worked in a bunch of chicken litter/shavings combo and also some peat. That should lighten up the heavy soil and be ready for spring planting. I'll cover the whole thing with grass clippings and leaves for the winter. If you haven't tried gypsum, it may be just the thing for you.

[stevecrouse]

Here is an interesting description of some heirloom potatoes I came across while reading the story of Jenny Lind, the great opera singer of the 1800s, who had a potato named after her.

www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/heirloom-potatoes.html#.VDOzbWd0xjo

One mentioned is "St. Helena".
Possibly a distant relative of Mt.St. Helens, or is that another of Tom's original names?

[Tom Wagner]

Thanks, Steve, for the suggestion that I may have grown St. Helena. I may have been growing potatoes for a long time but the reference to St. Helena is back to 1865! No...no relationship to that venerable variety.

The article you linked us all to was fascinatingly addictive. The website of Kathryn Bax makes these potatoes seem current and even available. I had fun reading Mrs. Bax's list of potatoes. I did a bit of googling and found where she got her info. I even read some of her public pages and was surprised she lives in Italy now.

I wasted a good deal of time looking into the potato varieties but hey...I like potato history. What follows it a bit disjointed but for those who wonder about the source of potato info....

www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com by Kathryn Bax

Google Play offers a way to read some of these old books.

play.google.com/books/reader2?id=W8REAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA66

the pages above from 45 to 66 show some of the potato descriptions

i.imgur.com/9ZlztAH.png

The author mentions his potato info source as the fella below...

James Francis Clark Hyde (1825-1898)
Born in Newton July 26, 1825, James Francis Clark Hyde was a seventh generation descendant of Jonathan Hyde (1626-1711). Self-educated, J. F. C. Hyde as he was known, was a successful businessman and an astute politician. He is best known as Newtons first mayor and as the originator of the Circuit Railroad which in 1886 connected Newtons two Boston and Albany rail lines and established the village of Waban.
In 1854, at the age of twenty-nine, Hyde was elected selectman, a position he held for seventeen years. He was town meeting moderator for many years, and a member of the highway and school committees. At thirty-one, he was elected as a representative to the Massachusetts General Court and served four years. He was also a trial justice for 6 years and his record book listing complainant, defendants, and judgments rendered, 1858 to 1864, is preserved in this collection.
Guiding Newtons transition from town to city government, Hyde was inaugurated as Mayor in 1874 and served in that capacity for two years.
Hyde was a Member of State Board of Agriculture and President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1867-1870). He was a founder of the Newton Horticultural Society and the Newton Highlands Congregational Church, and served on the Boards of the John Hanthingy Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company, several Newton banks, and the Newton Cemetery. Memorial resolutions from these organizations attest to his civic activities; a quotation from the Newton Cemetery resolution makes reference to the evolution of the description of "Newton as the Garden City:"
...his earnest appeals with voice and pen, to his fellow townsmen and public generally, to encourage horticulture and floriculture, had much to do toward giving us the euphonious title of the Garden City of Massachusetts.

St. Helena.aka Laplander-- An old and productive variety. Plant erect, and of a bushy habit, about two feet and a half in height ; foliage light green ; flowers pale reddish-purple.........taken from the book below...

The Field and Garden Vegetables of America: Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varieties : with Directions for Propagation, Culture, and Use
Fearing Burr

- January 1, 1865

play.google.com/store/search?q=potato&c=books
great list of potato books to read