DATE: 12/1/2005

CONTACT: Dr. Richard Hassell, (843) 402-5394; rhassel@clemson.edu

WRITER: Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Clemson scientist hoping tiny tubers won’t be ‘small potatoes’ for farmers

CHARLESTON – A Clemson University scientist at the Coastal Research and Education Center hopes some tiny tubers will become more than “small potatoes” for some South Carolina farmers along the coast.

Potato farmers once threw away the “runts” of the litter — 2 inches in diameter or smaller -- when buyers wanted the man-sized bakers or “new potatoes” that were just right for adding to the green beans, according to Richard Hassell, Clemson Extension vegetable specialist.

However, over the last 10-15 years chefs at fine restaurants and growing numbers of consumers have discovered that small, or “gourmet,” potatoes can be quite tasty. Gourmet potatoes offer excellent profit potential, bringing anywhere from 4 to 10 times the price that regular potatoes bring.

For the last three years Hassell has been looking at what it takes to grow gourmet potatoes near the coast, using varieties developed in the private sector and university and USDA breeding programs.

“I think we’ve got the watering, the fertility and the mulch worked out,” he said. “We know the right spacing, when to plant and when to harvest.” By 2007 he expects some farmers near Charleston , Florence and other areas popular with tourists to begin growing the potatoes.

Hassell looked at three types of small potatoes this year. One has red skin and dark yellow flesh.

“We have a French fingerling -- so called because the shape is something like a finger – which we are going to calla Carolina fingerling,” he said. “It is yellow with a red stripe inside. It’s a real eye catcher on the plate.”

The third one has white skin and red flesh.

The harvest this spring was marketed with chefs along the coast – in Charleston , at Myrtle Beach and on Hilton Head. In past years Governor Sanford’s chef has sampled them.

“Next year we’ll start looking at different colors of potatoes – purple, yellow, blue. You name it, we’re going to look at it,” Hassell said.

Hassell thinks the potatoes would be a natural fit for tomato and melon growers along the coast. They could clean up their mulch after the fall crop and reuse it for a February planting of potatoes.

White or reflective mulches provide the coolest soil temperatures, which is important in potato production for South Carolina ’s coast.

“You need cool temperatures to set the dark skins,” said Hassell. “We’re doing just the opposite of what most potato growing areas in the northern parts of the country do. We plant when it’s real cold and harvest when it’s real hot.”

He thinks that locally grown gourmet potatoes would be welcomed by high-end restaurants and specialty markets.

“All it would take to fill the niche is the demand from the consumer. We will have the educated growers,” Hassell said.

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