FYI for West Virginia gardeners

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WVDragonlady

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This year I want to try to grow potatoes but I didn't know which ones grew best in WV. I wrote the question to my local Extension Service and got a reply back. Love my Extension Service lol seriously, they're full of info if you need it.
Here is the reply:

I assume your are referring to Irish Potatoes.


The following Irish Potato varieties are recommended for West Virginia: Superior, Salem, Chieftain (red-skin), Lehigh (yellow), Russian Banana (fingerling), Purple Majesty ( Purple), Sierra (russet), Katahdin, Kennebec, and Norlan (red).


I hope this information is helpful to you.


Let me know if we can be of further assistance.




Yea I forgot to specify Irish potatoes lol and she was real nice about though
So now I know which ones to look out for at the hardware store when I go buy some seed potatoes this year.

Hope this helps other WV gardeners so they don't waste time or money trying to grow potatoes that don't do well here in WV.
I was watching a video from a fella up in Canada and he grew Viking red potatoes and I thought they might work well here in WV but apparently not. They sounded interesting just from the name
 
I have some rare AR seeds and the equipment needed to make them grow. :)
 
You don't need to buy seed potatoes. Just buy bags of different varieties to taste and see what you like. Then you buy more of what you like and not be charged "seed potato" prices.

All a seed potato is, is ones too small to sell otherwise. We never even thought of buying seed potatoes, we just used leftovers from the previous year and bagged potatoes if we ran short.
 
You don't need to buy seed potatoes. Just buy bags of different varieties to taste and see what you like. Then you buy more of what you like and not be charged "seed potato" prices.

All a seed potato is, is ones too small to sell otherwise. We never even thought of buying seed potatoes, we just used leftovers from the previous year and bagged potatoes if we ran short.

and if they're a variety that doesn't grow well here in WV then what? I've wasted money and effort for nothing
I'll buy the ones recommended by people who know.
Thanks anyway
 
Wouldn't that be in Virginia?
I live 20 mins from the Va line lol

So far we don't have people thinking they're going to take our guns.
Hell we have open carry and castle law here. People don't know that though so keep it quiet lol
 
This year I want to try to grow potatoes but I didn't know which ones grew best in WV. I wrote the question to my local Extension Service and got a reply back. Love my Extension Service lol seriously, they're full of info if you need it.
Here is the reply:

I assume your are referring to Irish Potatoes.


The following Irish Potato varieties are recommended for West Virginia: Superior, Salem, Chieftain (red-skin), Lehigh (yellow), Russian Banana (fingerling), Purple Majesty ( Purple), Sierra (russet), Katahdin, Kennebec, and Norlan (red).


I hope this information is helpful to you.


Let me know if we can be of further assistance.




Yea I forgot to specify Irish potatoes lol and she was real nice about though
So now I know which ones to look out for at the hardware store when I go buy some seed potatoes this year.

Hope this helps other WV gardeners so they don't waste time or money trying to grow potatoes that don't do well here in WV.
I was watching a video from a fella up in Canada and he grew Viking red potatoes and I thought they might work well here in WV but apparently not. They sounded interesting just from the name
I have no idea if this company can help you to know if any of their potatoes can be grown in West Virginia, but they have the largest selection I have ever seen.

https://www.potatogarden.com/

I like to experiment with growing things, so if it were me, I would try some different varieties.

Someone here said that in a SHTF situation, it would definitely be easier to grow potatoes for your family than wheat. I absolutely agree with that. My grandparents owned half a city block, but my grandfather was not the most motivated person in the world. He talked about how 1/2 of his property could be planted in potatoes, but he never did that and it was never mowed. It was overgrown with tall weeds where we played. Imagine all the potatoes he could have grown there. No doubt we ate a lot of potatoes growing up. Grandparents grew potatoes in their garden, but nothing like they could have grown, and maybe sold or bartered.
 
I'm only gonna try what the expert told me worked for my state

That site only had 2 that would do well here from what I remember of the list. And the prices seem high from what I remember of what my local hardware store was charging last year.
I'll have to wait to see what the prices are to decide
 
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