Why you might not receive our emails (and what to do)

Unlike most small businesses, I don’t outsource Cultivariable email to a big service provider like gmail.  Instead, I actually run the server.  It hasn’t always been this way, but running the mail server gives me better flexibility and offers increased privacy to customers who care about it.  I take advantage of all of the options […]

Should You Grow Potatoes Purchased at the Grocery Store?

Spring is around the corner and it is the time of year when I start to see a lot of discussion about growing those old, heavily sprouted potatoes that you find at the bottom of your pantry or about purchasing potatoes to plant from the grocery store because seed potatoes are so expensive.  Like so […]

The Big Freeze

Update: I’ve had some questions about availability.  If something shows in stock, it is in stock and you can order it.  I will still be adding more as I get everything cleaned and packaged.  The amounts available will definitely be smaller than usual, so I will probably sell out before spring, but I did save […]

Risks of Cross Pollination by GMO Potatoes

Note: This article is focused on the USA because that is where I live.  I know less about the status of GMO potatoes in other countries, although I am under the impression that they are rare outside of the USA, Canada, and China (PRC).  If you know more about the status of GMO potatoes in […]

Landrace Breeding Potatoes and Other Tubers

Seedlings from the Cultivariable Wide Tetraploid TPS mix

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about “landracing” potatoes and some of the other crops that I work with.  I take this as a sign that Joseph Lofthouse‘s new book, Landrace Gardening, is selling well.  I highly recommend it.  If you have any interest in backyard vegetable breeding, click on that link and […]

Potato Aerial Tubers

There are some questions about potatoes that I get over and over again, like whether or not potato towers work, what the mysterious fruits on potato plants are, and whether or not greened potatoes are dangerous.  This post is about one of those frequently asked questions that I hadn’t gotten to yet: why is my […]

Everything You Need to Know About Indeterminate Potatoes

Lime green foliage and long leaves characteristic of a diploid domesticated potato

It was tempting to make this post a joke and just leave it a blank page.  That would, in fact, have communicated just about everything that it is useful to know about indeterminate potatoes for casual growers.  Unfortunately, the proliferation of incorrect information about potato determinacy requires a little more work to correct.  Ten years […]

A Change to Our International Shipping Policy (Again)

It has been about three years since I decided to end international shipping.  Since then, I have received numerous requests to reconsider that policy, many of which were persuasive and appeal to my libertarian leanings.  I have decided to resume international shipping of seeds only.  I will not send roots and tubers outside the USA.  […]