Potatoes Stemster

The 'Stemster' potato, formerly known as Prosper, is an old, vigorous variety, mid-late, always appreciated for its ease of cultivation and natural resistance to blight and drought. It is a beautiful improvement of 'Desiree' that produces numerous oblong, regular tubers of large size with red-pink skin and shallow eyes. Easy to peel raw or cooked, these potatoes have a pale yellow flesh of good taste quality, quite tender but remaining firm when cooked. They can be stored in a cool and dark place for a very long time. Plant the young plants from mid-March to late April-early May, depending on the climate, and harvest after 110 days of growth for new potatoes, after 140 days for storage and preservation. Perfect for steaming, boiling or baking as new potatoes.

The potato is a root vegetable that has become essential in the vegetable garden and on the plate. It is a perennial plant grown annually, developing tubers as storage organs on its rhizomes. The plants produce small flowers in summer except for a few varieties like Belle de Fontenay. Each plant will produce several potatoes, which can be stored for several months and cooked in multiple ways. The potato belongs to the Solanaceae family, like eggplants and tomatoes. Originally cultivated in the Andes, it was brought to Europe in the 16th century. It was only around 1750 that it became widely grown, thanks to Parmentier.

There are many varieties. The tubers, more or less elongated in shape, have generally yellow flesh, sometimes red, pink or purple. Low in calories, potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, iron, and potassium.

There are three categories of potatoes, according to the flesh content:

- Firm-fleshed varieties have good cooking properties. These potatoes, somewhat elongated in shape, have refined and tasty flesh. They are ideal for boiling or steaming and can be stewed or roasted.

- Floury-fleshed varieties are rich in starch and easily mashable. Reasonably large, these potatoes are perfect for mashed potatoes or soups. They also make very crispy fries, which absorb less oil when cooked.

- Tender-fleshed varieties have a melting flesh while maintaining good cooking properties. They can be used in various ways: roasted, stewed, or baked.

Harvest: Potatoes are harvested from May to October, depending on the varieties and their earliness. Gently dig up the plants with a garden fork to avoid damaging the tubers. Let the potatoes dry in the sun for a day.

Storage potatoes are harvested when the foliage turns yellow and withers. Early varieties are harvested 80 to 90 days after planting, mid-early varieties around 110 days, mid-late varieties around 120 days, and late varieties from 120 to over 150 days.

As for new potatoes, with fragile skin and delicious flesh, they are harvested before maturity, 70 days after planting. Dig them up just after flowering, around May-June.

Storage: After removing damaged tubers, store potatoes in a cool, dry, and dark place. In the presence of light, tubers turn green and synthesise a toxic compound, solanine. Early harvest varieties should be consumed quickly. Storage potatoes can be stored for several months. The storage duration varies depending on their earliness: late varieties are the ones that keep the longest.

A Gardener's Tip: Grow potatoes as a crop rotation leader, as they are often considered a cleansing crop. Indeed, hilling and root development leave the soil clean and loose after harvest. They also appreciate the company of legumes (beans, broad beans, peas).

Note: Potato plants are intended to be planted in the ground and cultivated before consumption. Depending on the varieties, they may have been treated with Thiabendazole (a preservative) and Imazilil (an antifungal product). Therefore, please do not consume them as they are.