Topic: Pink Fir Potatoes

[tim]

- for those who haven't grown these wonderful pots, here they are - the last of the crop lifted.

Too many small ones this year despite 4' haulms - rain? - but useful.
Boiled (no peeling, peel later if you wish), baked, roast ......And they stay 'new' till the New Year.

A warning - I think it is sensible to break up the bunches before they are dried off - if you leave it, they will break later and might cause rot ? - Tim

[Admin aka Dan]

Tim, I've changed your post to incluse the picture, you had missed out the / - if you modify the message you'll see what I mean.

I've put up instructions to try and help people put pictures up.

Instructions

Cheers

Dan

[tim]

thanks, Dan, I'm sure that that will help a lot of folk.

Thought from your e-mail that you meant enclose just the http bit. And silly of me to miss the /? Hope it will save you a lot of hassle? - Tim

[ina]

Hi Tim. I remember those strange potatoes you grow. Aren't they a very old variety? Very interesting. -Ina

[tim]

- don't know if they are 'heritage', but they are very worthwhile - Tim

[Doris_Pinks]

Tim or anyone else out there, have you tried Anya potatoes? I often buy them from the shop and we love em, and have now seen them in a catalogue. I think they are related to the Pink Fir.    Dotty P.

[tim]

thanks for the tip, DP - didn't realise that they were less branchy. Less amusing, but more practical. And both good and bad that they are much earlier.

I'll be trying them next year. - Tim

[john_miller]

Over here these type of potatoes are referred to as 'fingerlings', I don't think anyone needs me to point out why! From what I have read, mostly from specialist seed potato producers, all fingerlings are heritage (heirloom here). They are not considered commercial enough to warrant breeding further. The names of the ones available here (Russian Banana, Austrian Crescent etc.) are inventive enough to suggest a heritage when compared to the bland names of today, in my humble opinion of course.
A quick google told me that Anya is a Pink Fir/Desiree cross, should you be interested, and was released in 1996. Over here fingerlings are gaining a substantial hold in the niche gourmet restaurant market (because of their outstanding flavour) but as they are 3-4 times more expensive to buy than even 'All Blue' or 'Alaskan Sweetheart' (red skin/red flesh) I doubt if they will move far beyond that market commercially (given the 'fad' nature of chefs that one may not last long either). Fingerlings are considered very high yielding but difficult to harvest mechanically (because of their shape) which is what makes them expensive.

[tim]

you learn every day!! - Tim