Yukon Gold Potatoes

 Purchased from: Fisher Garden Store for $9.95/10 premium seed potatoes
Type: Potato

I was starting to get a bit antsy about whether or not my order had gone through at Fisher's Garden store, but I was happy to see this came in the mail yesterday!  They *did* say they'd mail when it was time to plant, so I guess that means this weekend I need to get down to the community garden and plant these.  Because I've realized that Yukon Gold is apparently not a good variety to use for the
"Potato tower" method, I am instead planting these in one of the Pea Pods community beds.

 The seed potatoes themselves were packed nicely in a paper bag, labelled with contents.  They smell earthy- which isn't surprising, but is a bit of a change from all my 'sterile' seed packets.  Underneath the bag was a pamphlet put out by MSU Cooperative extension that detailed potato illnesses in Montana and ways to keep things like Potato Late Blight from becoming a big issue.  I know if we get hit with Late Blight in the community garden, we're going to really be suffering because it WILL jump to other Nightshades like Tomatoes.

 The pamphlet also emphasized sourcing potatoes from within Montana, which I'm more than happy to do in the first place.  I don't know if there are strict regulations because I didn't dive into it that closely, but I do know that Gurney's won't ship seed potatoes to Montana.  Another nice thing was a little rundown of how to plant potatoes, which I didn't really need, but is definitely nice for a beginner who might not be super comfortable with searching around on the internet.  We all know I am, though, so that's a moot point as well.

Curious as to what the seed potatoes actually looked like?  Well, they look just like small potatoes!  They're meant to be planted whole according to Fisher, but their catalog said that you can cut them in half, you just have to let them cure for a day or two before planting.  Since I only have a 4x4 area to plant them in, I'm going to just plant em whole.  I'm not entirely sure how much of the harvest I'll get my hands on, since they're going in a community-run bed and I'm just going to "adopt" the care of it, but you know what?  As long as I get to taste a few, I think I'll be fine :)

As usual, the experience with Fisher's was great- they always include a quick little hand-written thank-you in the  order, and everything is prompt once it's actually shipped, and I just overall feel really good about supporting a local business, especially one that actually bothers to stock items that are meant for growing here.  I think that's really important, and a little later on I'll be featuring a nursery I know from New York that specializes in cold-hardy fruit trees.  Exciting!

click here to learn about my experience with Fisher's Garden Store and to learn how to get a catalog of your own.