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The Best 11 Potato Varieties to Grow at Home | Gardener’s Path
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Another difference between these varieties is their size – early potatoes will generally be smaller than maincrop or late season types. But this is not always the case, as fingerling types generally fit into the late season category.
Potatoes referred to as “new” don’t really have their own type, but rather, they are harvested early when they are small.
Whether you’re craving a waxy yellow-fleshed spud, a thin-skinned red, or something white or blue, we’ve got a top pick that you’re sure to love! Time to check out our roundup…
1. Elba
‘Elba’ is a perfect all-rounder, with flaky skin and moist flesh that’s ideal for boiling, baking, and mashing alike.
This cheerful yellow-colored potato is as beautiful as it is vigorous and virus resistant. It’s also resistant to early and late blight, and scab.
This variety is ready for harvesting mid- to late-season, and tubers mature around 90 days after planting.
‘Elba’ is available from High Mowing Organic Seeds.
2. Kennebec
The ‘Kennebec’ is a very popular all-purpose potato.
With its smooth, thin skin and creamy texture, what’s especially great about this spud is that it maintains its shape when cooked – making it ideal for use in salads, curries, soups, and stews – while at the same time containing just enough starch to be mashed or fried without issue.
You can expect to be eating a lot of potatoes if you grow this variety, as it produces high yields.
Even better, this spud stores well, meaning you can continue to enjoy your harvest many months after the plants have finished producing.
This is an early maincrop variety, ready for harvest in 80 days. It’s resistant to late blight, black leg, and potato viruses A and Y.
You can find ‘Kennebec’ tubers via Burpee.
3. Red Gold
If you’re looking for a unique-tasting tater, look no further.
‘Red Gold’ offers a delicious nutty flavor quite unlike any spud you can find in the grocery store. With yellow flesh and raspberry-red eyes, this is also a very pretty potato.
Hailing from my neck of the woods in Northern Europe, this is an all-purpose mid-season variety that can be mashed, roasted, baked, or fried.
Spuds mature in 90 days. Keep in mind that they are best suited to short-term storage.
You can find this variety on offer at Burpee.
4. Red Pontiac
Another winner in the all-rounder category, this early season red variety comes with the added advantage of having especially thin skin, making it a very appealing choice whether harvested at the new stage or grown to maturity.
‘Red Pontiac’ has waxy-textured flesh, and it is perfect for baking, boiling, mashing, roasting, or especially for use in salads.
This type is not as suitable for frying. The plants are known for having good drought tolerance.
Ready in 80 days, you can find ‘Red Pontiac’ tubers from Burpee.
5. Rio Grande Russet
This is one type that you can enjoy guilt-free!
As long as you eat the skins, this spud is loaded with antioxidants, making it a highly nutritious variety. Russets have a floury, fluffy texture with flavorful skins.
What’s more, this cultivar is high yielding, meaning there’s sure to be more than enough to go around when your harvest comes in.
Thanks to its low starch content, this spud is ideal for salads, slicing, and making into chips.
Producing taters that reach four to five inches in length at maturity, ‘Rio Grande’ has rust-brown skin and white flesh, and is ready in just 59 to 65 days.
You can find this variety at Burpee.
6. Magic Molly
‘Magic Molly’ is an enchanting cultivar that is sure to cast a spell on you.
As rich in color as it is in taste, this type is deep purple both inside and out. And it will even retain that beautiful color when boiled. Prepare to make some culinary magic with this vibrant variety!
This spud comes to life when paired with warm, woody, smoky accents, making it absolutely ideal for grilling on the barbecue.
You will have to wait slightly longer to experience its magic, as this cultivar takes 95 to 100 days to reach full maturity.
You can purchase packages of ‘Magic Molly’ mini tubers for planting from Burpee.
7. Masquerade
Burpee describes this potato as “edible art,” and I couldn’t agree more.
This unique bicolor type really is remarkable. With skin that’s marbled with vibrant purple and white, ‘Masquerade’ is really something that has to be seen to be believed.
A low starch variety, this spud has moist, white flesh perfect for baking, mashing, and roasting, and takes only 63 days to reach full maturity.
You can find ‘Masquerade’ mini tubers for sale at Burpee.
8. Princess Laratte
This is a very popular pomme de terre where I’m currently living in France, to the point that Burpee describes this French variety as a “culinary superstar of European haute cuisine.”
So, what makes this cultivar so popular with the notoriously food-loving French? Well, its flavor is subtly sweet and mildly nutty, almost like a mixture of chestnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.
This variety is slow to mature, ready in 90 to 110 days, but it is certainly worth the wait.
You can find ‘Princess Laratte’ mini tubers at Burpee.
9. Purple Majesty
As someone who grew up knowing only pale, yellow taters, there is something so irresistibly enchanting about purple potatoes for me.
And I’d be willing to bet the kids and guests who dine with you will feel the same way!
With wine-dark skins and succulent purple flesh, these violet, sweet, buttery spuds add a splash of color and interest to your plate, and they’re perfect for frying.
‘Purple Majesty’ thrives in full sun and matures in 85 days, producing spuds three to four inches long.
You can find ‘Purple Majesty’ tubers via Burpee.
10. Russian Banana Fingerling
This heirloom fingerling type has tender yellow flesh and a rich, buttery flavor.
Excellent pan-fried or roasted, this cultivar also holds up to use in salads. It is noted for high resistance to scab.
‘Russian Banana Fingerling’ is a late-season variety that produces spuds about one and a half inches long. Plants mature in 90 days.
You can find this cultivar at High Mowing Organic Seeds.
11. Yukon Gold
You’ll be sure to strike gold with this super-popular golden yellow cultivar.
Developed in the 1960s in Canada, this hybrid variety has quickly become a firm favorite, thanks to the fact that it offers the best of all worlds – it’s waxy enough to stand up to boiling, but fluffy enough to make a marvelous mash.
That being said, the best way to cook ‘Yukon Gold’ in my opinion is unquestionably via roasting in the oven.
When roasted, it creates a formidable combination of crackly crunch on the outside, and creamy, buttery goodness on the inside – and trust me, I’m English, so if there’s one thing I know, it’s roasted taters!
‘Yukon Gold’ is an early variety, ready in only 65 days, and it requires full sun conditions. This type is noted for its disease resistance, including resistance to scab.
You can purchase ‘Yukon Gold’ tubers for planting from High Mowing Organic Seeds.
You’re Sure to Dig Growing These Spuds!
After seeing all the amazing varieties on offer, you’re practically guaranteed to never think that a spud is just a spud again!
Have you had a go at growing any of these cultivars? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you want to learn more about growing potatoes, be sure to check these out next:
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Natasha Foote
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