One of the best decisions we made during the early years on the farm was to splurge on $45 worth of seed garlic.  Yes, that sounds like an excessive amount of money for two pounds of garlic, but the high quality bulbs grow like crazy and have provided all the garlic we could eat for the last three years.  Meanwhile, we've given away starter garlic to all and sundry, so I really can't calculate how many pounds of garlic those first two pounds turned into.

With that success in mind, I decided to try out four new varieties of potatoes this spring, even though the seed potatoes cost $5 to $7.50 per pound at the Potato Garden (from whence the descriptions below came).  Here are the varieties I chose after reading the descriptions for all 55 types of potatoes offered on their website:

• Carola - "This yellow from Germany is heralded by potato lovers as one of the best. Produces an abundant basket of tubers under each hill. Oblong to round tubers with smooth yellow skin and flesh that has the texture, moisture and taste of a new potato even after months of storage in the root cellar. Boils, bakes, mashes and hashes that are out of this world as well as makes some of the best scalloped potatoes around. Shows some scab and disease resistance, also excellent storage qualities."
  
• Cracked Butterball - "A 2008 German Butterball x Agria cross by Verlin Rockey. This is a great way to get the German Butterball taste in a larger potato. With a unique characteristic of a crackled skin, it is easily washed with a vegetable brush."
  
• Desiree - "The most popular “red” potato in Europe. Round to oblong tubers, satin-like pinkish/red skin and gourmet quality creamy-yellow flesh. Prolific yields of excellent all-around cooking potatoes. Very resistant to common diseases. An easy and very reliable gourmet potato to grow."
  
• Rose Finn Apple Fingerling - "A rosy colored skin with deep yellow flesh and a waxy, firm texture. A great roasting potato, very popular and fun to grow. Delectable flavor and a fine keeper with vigorous vines. Many chefs are finding that these potatoes cooked and pureed lend themselves well as a soup thickener for sauces and gravies. A fine keeper with vigorous upright vines. Mid-Season variety."

As you can tell, I'm focusing on good keepers because I want to be able to plant the offspring of these potatoes for many years to come.  We don't eat many potatoes any more, so I figure the ones we do eat should be the very best!  Stay tuned for a taste test this fall.