Perennial Perpetual Diversity Potato Tubers and Seeds

Selected for hardiness in the ground as well as fruitfulness for true seed production of Perennial Perpetual Diversity makes it possible to generate your own varieties as well maintain a population as a low input crop and a feral or wild selection of potato competitive with other plants in non cultivated areas.  There are several options to do this both from a named varietal selection as well as from a diversity standpoint using many types of seedlings to allow for breaking the bond of blight and varietal susceptibility. Here are two: Purple Ease and Pure True Seed Potato from Perennial Perpetual Diversity

Selected for 'diploidness' or fruitfulness, 'Purple Ease' has produced both high yields of tubers as well as full sets of berries to extract seeds from. As a result you will be able to continue this line of fruitful potato without ever having to purchase seed potatoes again plus grow and sell the Perennial Perpetual Diversity Potato. This package comes with 10 tubers of 'Purple Ease' as seen in the image as well as 2000 seeds which can be used to produce an even greater diversity of potatoes from what is called true seed potatoes. These are the same selections that overwintered here in southwestern Michigan for the last decade  at my farm in southwestern Michigan.  

The history of the perennial perpetual potato:  Selected over the course of a decade of growing potatoes from true seeds, I found by accident that the heirloom blue potato I was growing had set seeds. From there I did a grow out of this seedling line which was planted outdoors unattended to for 5 years or so. This live and let go philosophy was accidental as I had to take a break from my farm at the time to help a family member with health problems. I did not have the time to harvest them during this time which went on for several years. I soon forgot about them too!  From there I began another grow out patch from those seedlings to produce fruits and seeds only. I had tried other types available on the market as well but they were too disease prone here and I quickly lost those. Over time various blights of which I was not aware of wiped out many plants quickly and winnowed out the best plants.  For that reason I released  'Purple Ease' in 2021 after 4 consecutive years of grow outs. It has been with me for 6 years and has been a good yielder as well as a constant fruiter with clean foliage that is not stunted by virus problems. It also always sets solid crops of berries in my short season. The remainder of the original patch has now been spread throughout my farm under various conditions as well as growing them in grow bags to ease my own time constraints. These are all selections left outside for many years and continue to grow and produce good yields despite the marginal conditions and competition from other plants near their plantings. 

The true seed philosophy of the potato can allow you to skip the 'viral overload' and start afresh with a new populations. From here you can find your own population adapted to your location as well. That is the purpose of the Perennial Perpetual Diversity potato.  You can create a wild self replicating plant if it remains healthy over time as well as setting fertile fruits and seeds. Since the potato has historically been male infertile now comes a time to change that by having wild potatoes free of the plant breeders who created them in the first place.  Welcome Perennial Perpetual Diversity!  This of course will allow you to develop your own varieties that can be clonally produced too. That is the nature of the potato and the humans that carry them across several continents over the last few thousand years. 

To germinate:  Lightly sprinkle seeds on top of the soil or media mix and lightly spray the surface of the soil. Seeds will sprout within one week and continue up to three weeks. If possible for maximum yield start plants one month prior to frost before transplanting outside. Can be direct seeded but needs a fine sandy soil for best results. Treat the seeds like tomato seeds and plant out after frost. Once established try leaving out a portion of the crop to test its winter hardiness. Winter hardy potatoes for me are ones that tend to dry down a little and can freeze without turning to mush. You can also test this by putting them in the freezer but it is not as reliable as the outside. Keep your eyes open on fruitful potatoes and keep the seeds of those as well as the potatoes themselves to continue.  Eat the ones that seem to fail over time. So far none have shown high solanine content.   

 10 tubers of 'Purple Ease' plus 2000 seeds.  'Purple Ease' is the highest yielding variety at my farm as well as good for true seed production.  I include only this variety and seeds of Perennial Perpetual Diversity included which are heavy yielding fruitful potatoes grown in the same vicinity. Having other flowering potatoes in the region help with the fruit production too. 

Mixed Colors-Tubers are the Perennial Perpetual Diversity Plus 2000 seeds that were grown over the course of a decade outdoors. Only the non viral and clean foliage types are used now for this is the only way to prevent low yields and the damaging effects of the blights. Many of these are one year from seed tubers and they are small from 1/2 inch to 1 inch in size mixed with grown from tubers selections which generally are larger. 

True Seeds are cold stored. Potato tubers are shipped in early spring or in March for most locations unless otherwise requested. I avoid shipping tubers during ultra freezing weather and take the packages directly to the post office. 

Tubers of Perennial Perpetual Diversity Potato Come with True Seeds as Well:  Available starting in fall in October of 2023 and/or winter and early spring 2024. You can request a ship date if you wish.

This is a mixture of the most durable selections at my farm now grown over a decade outside without a lot of inputs. The foliage is clean and many of the selections will produce fruit which you can then extract to continue the lineage. The ideal of a feral or wild potato in North America is not that hard to imagine as all potatoes are essentially perennial in nature. It is only we treat them like annuals. Perennial Perpetual makes it highly likely that a sustainable population can be achieved by using the selections I have winnowed out from many cold winters in southern Michigan all outside as well as using them as a form of groundcover in my plantings at my farm. 

True Seeds of Perennial Perpetual Diversity Potatoes      

 True seeds selected from heavy fruiting types with only plants that are good fruiters as well as overwintering tubers. Most are medium sized tubers roughly 2 ounces per tuber when grown from true seed. This is more typical of this type of potato. Only the most productive types are used