Tranquility Potato

Selected seedling from an heirloom blue potato. 

This selection has outyielded all other diploid potatoes at my farm. Although not a diploid itself, it came from a diploid of All Blue and has consistently produced lots of small to medium sized potatoes and every once in a while large one pounders. This is normal in heavily fertilized situations with irrigation. One of the reasons those russet potatoes at the store are insanely big. 

The bright lavender color and dense white flesh are a standout in both looks and taste. Early ripening after 70 days, the crop is ready to harvest with most of the vines decayed in mid August here at my farm from tubers planted in mid-May. This early ripening is an adjunct to its growth habit and ability to produce in less than favorable conditions.

The thick almost square stems produce a fan shaped foliage that is both vigorous and sturdy and so far has been immune to the blights for the last six years. Never say never with blight. it is quite pernicious to essentially 'breed' immunity with virus's that can change with the selection.  However after 5 years of testing and looking very closely there appears to be no issue with late and early blight compared to other selections I have tried to maintain clean. I found it impossible to grow any number of seed potatoes due to blight unless grown in a greenhouse.  This is how I produced many of my selections as it was a safe haven. Luckily Tranquility kept growing vigorously and healthy in both outdoor and indoor polyhouse environments. This potato does not flower or fruit so it is necessary to grow from tubers-cuttings. 

Very limited supplies however a few test plots are in the works and hopefully others will produce Tranquility in numbers. The name reflects a certain feeling you get from growing a lot of something only to find out that one out of a thousand can overcome environmental adversities. It created a certain tranquil feeling for me that here is a potato with very good yields and yet can be kept small and delicious. It has overwintered a few times but it is hard to say if this trait is significant enough to be reliable in cold climates.