Rotting Potato Gas Dangers: Myth or Reality?

Greened potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers

Time for another frequently asked potato question.  Actually, this is more of an occasionally asked question, but close enough. Do you recall reading a news story about a Russian family who died in their root cellar due to toxic potato gas?  This story regularly makes the rounds in gardening groups on social media and has […]

Potato Flowers 2022 (Part 1?)

Year after year, potato flower posts rank near the top of the most popular content on this site, so I know you like potato flowers.  Due to difficult weather and a late planting, mine are behind schedule this year and really just coming into widespread flowering.  With a few exceptions, these are seedling varieties from […]

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 […]

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 […]

Americans Should Be Careful of Ukraine True Potato Seeds (TPS)

Several varieties of uniform true potato seeds are available from eastern Europe and these are commonly offered through online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.  The names of these varieties include Asol, Diva, Empress, Fermer (Farmer), Ilona, Krasa (Beauty), Milena, Revansh (Revenge), and variations and translations of these names.  These varieties are not legal to grow […]

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 […]