Providing Herbs, Fine Seeds and Goods for the Gardener Cook since 1950
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Providing Herbs, Fine Seeds and Goods for the Gardener Cook since 1950
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Potatoes Makah Ozette conical brown skinned potatoes with many regularly arranged eyes.

Makah Ozette Potato

$9.95 $0.00

  • 100 days. Heirloom.

    One of the charms of heirlooms is the story they bring to the garden and table. This heirloom potato of the Makah people in Northwest Washington came to North America directly from Peru on a Spanish ship. It may well be the only potato that didn’t have a circuitous trip from South America to Europe and eventually to North America. In the late 1700’s Spaniards sailed up the Pacific coast and built a fort in far NW Washington. Their garden included these potatoes. They soon abandoned the fort. When they departed, members of the Ozette village of the Makah tribe, came in and found the potatoes. These were nurtured, planted and harvested for over 200 years. Their local diet was quite low in carbohydrates so the potatoes were especially appreciated. These fingerlings range from 3"-7" in length. Noted for having a firm, creamy consistency and pale yellow color. The flavor and texture lend them to salads, roasting and steaming. This potato has been placed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. Certified virus free seed stock. Tubers sent only in early Spring.

Planting Directions:   SOIL PREPARATION - potatoes grow in average soil, Avoid using fresh manure or lime in the soil where potatoes are to be grown, as it tends to cause scab on the potatoes. If you fertilize,  mix your favorite type of fertilizer into soil, prior to planting. Work the soil to a depth of 12” especially if your soil is compacted.    CUTTING POTATOES - Small potatoes are planted the whole. Large size potatoes can be cut them in half, or quarter them., be sure each has two or three 'growth eyes'. After cutting, let the cut surface callus-over before planting them, overnight is usually perfect. SPACING - . Plant a foot apart in rows which are spaced at least 2 feet apart. Plant to a depth of at least 6” so that the potato is completely covered during growth.If planted shallow, mound soil or straw so that the growing potatoes are not exposed to sunlight. You can grow potatoes in the ground, in stacks of straw or mulch, in black plastic bags, in garbage cans or to stacks of tires. Potatoes can be a fun and easy crop to grow Straw: For centuries, Scandinavians have grown potatoes in stacks of straw or other mulching material. Potatoes are planted above ground in the straw, and as the vines begin to grow, additional straw or mulch is mounded up around the base of the plants. This results in a yield of very clean potatoes. New potatoes can be harvested easily even before the potato vines mature completely. WATERING - Black or hollow centers on potatoes is often caused by over-watering. Irregular watering causes irregular shaped or knobby potatoes. As a guideline, water potatoes (thoroughly) weekly during warmer summer weather. HARVESTING - full sized potatoes when the vines turn yellow or have died-back. STORAGE - Keep them in the dark, in a spot where temperatures are about 40 degrees and off concrete floors.