Shetland potatoes

[extremegardener]

conversation continued from the blog section...

Hey Rebsie - check this out www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2008/11/07/so-what%E2%80%99s-in-a-tattie-plenty-of-goodness/
Wow, I would love to visit Shetland and see... and get my hands on some of those spuds!
Evidently they have a tradition of growing colorful potatoes, so now I would suspect that Blue Shetlands and Shetland Blacks aren't the same, but no doubt they're related...

Does anyone know if there is organised preservation going on for these amazing varieties?

[Rebsie]

Thanks for that link. I've never been up as far as Shetland, but I've recently befriended someone up there who has kindly offered to send me some Foula Red (a very rare one) and an "authentic" local version of Shetland Black which is apparently slightly different from the commercial version I've been growing. I'm really looking forward to trying those! Although the UK is a small country, the soil and climate down here in the south of England is drastically different from the Shetland Isles, so it'll be interesting to see how they adapt. Apparently (so my Shetland friend tells me) the native varieties tend to set tubers very close to the surface because they're adapted to the very shallow soil on the islands.

Organised preservation? Yes, there's a National Collection of potato varieties in Scotland. I haven't seen a list of what they've got though.

[canadamike]

¸It should be listed here. Just write Scotland as country of origin:

eurisco.ecpgr.org/

[grungy]

Michael if you keep digging up these addies, I will have to win a lottery to afford more land and "slaves" to work it. LOL

[canadamike]

Bahhhhh!!! Liar! I've been maried long enough to know what a married woman does in this case: get the whip out and make sure the mortgage paying slave takes care of everything ! ;D ;D ;D

[grungy]

Note to self - must ask Mrs. Mike, what size of whip she uses and where she managed to find the night light bright enough for husbands to continue working after dark. Energy pills would be helpful too, as how you teach the husband how to work while sleeping. LOL

[Alan]

Wow, the resources keep flowing and the s&m talk keeps getting more prevalent! We have a great site!

By the way mike, keep digging up more sites, it makes me have to dig up more soil which is a good thing, to an extent!

[extremegardener]

Nov 18, 2008 17:35:07 GMT -5 Rebsie said:

Thanks for that link. I've never been up as far as Shetland, but I've recently befriended someone up there who has kindly offered to send me some Foula Red (a very rare one) and an "authentic" local version of Shetland Black which is apparently slightly different from the commercial version I've been growing. I'm really looking forward to trying those! Although the UK is a small country, the soil and climate down here in the south of England is drastically different from the Shetland Isles, so it'll be interesting to see how they adapt. Apparently (so my Shetland friend tells me) the native varieties tend to set tubers very close to the surface because they're adapted to the very shallow soil on the islands.

Organised preservation? Yes, there's a National Collection of potato varieties in Scotland. I haven't seen a list of what they've got though.

Now I'm green with envy - I think that any of the Shetland potatoes would be excellent candidates for true seed parents, not to mention being great varieties in their own right. Color, flavor, and I'm presuming from what I've observed, a robust constitution...
The shallow soils thing is a revelation for me - my Shetland offspring both bear all the tubers close to the surface (and spread more than other potato types), so I have to make sure they get plenty of mulch. So that's why they do that!

[stevil]

Well, Norway still lays claim on Shetland and this is probably why we in the Norwegian Seed Savers are growing 3 varieties with Shetland names: Foula Red, Shetland Blue Eye and Shetland Black. Shetland Blue Eye came to Norway with that name but seems to be the same as Catriona.

www.hagepraten.no/gallery/pic.php?mode=large&pic_id=1049

[Rebsie]

Stevil - That's interesting. I wonder if the Norwegian version of Shetland Black is the "local" version or the "commercial" version ... ?

Leigh - If I could ever find a way to get potatoes into the US ... Having seen the beautiful varieties you raised from TPS I'll certainly be looking out for seedballs on mine! I've found Shetland Black to be quite sporadic in flowering most years, and they usually drop off, but we'll see what happens when I try the alternative version.

I'm wondering if shallow soil is also the reason Shetland potatoes always seem to be black or blue or red. The anthocyanin in the skin acts as a sunblock and helps to stop the tubers going green if they get exposed. Very useful if you live somewhere so bleak and windswept your mulch gets blown away.

[cff]

Postal rules are made anyone who's not into trading seed Why couldn't you just box them up and ship them as dishes ?

It's always better to beg for forgiveness that to ask for permission

Nov 22, 2008 13:19:39 GMT -5 Rebsie said:

Stevil - That's interesting. I wonder if the Norwegian version of Shetland Black is the "local" version or the "commercial" version ... ?

Leigh - If I could ever find a way to get potatoes into the US ... Having seen the beautiful varieties you raised from TPS I'll certainly be looking out for seedballs on mine! I've found Shetland Black to be quite sporadic in flowering most years, and they usually drop off, but we'll see what happens when I try the alternative version.

I'm wondering if shallow soil is also the reason Shetland potatoes always seem to be black or blue or red. The anthocyanin in the skin acts as a sunblock and helps to stop the tubers going green if they get exposed. Very useful if you live somewhere so bleak and windswept your mulch gets blown away.

[canadamike]

Here is a wise man talking.

[Rebsie]

Fair enough. Got to be worth a try.

Maybe this can become a new hobby for me, thinking up imaginative ways to disguise planting stock to subvert the postal system.

[cff]

Ok do you need my address for a test run