True Potato Seed (TPS)

True Potato Seed (TPS) is the name given to the seeds from potato fruits, which breeders can use to develop new varieties. But these seeds are also interesting for amateur gardeners because they can save themselves the trouble of storing seed potatoes. Sown in February, the TPS produce potatoes of the best eating quality in autumn.

TPS are an exciting way of growing your own potatoes: since potato plants usually get cross-pollinated, you never know exactly what characteristics the seed of the next generation will have. While the offspring of a plant will have a lot in common with their mother, it may vary in individual traits. Thus, a blue potato may sometimes have some red-, yellow- or white-fleshed offspring. But don't worry: unless they are wild varieties, the crosses from the VARIETAS range are always edible. However, cultivars with a Solanum phureja background should be tested for shorter cooking time, as it can be reduce by on third.

TPS is an invitation to try yourself as a breeder and see what results your own garden produces. Once you have found your new favorite potato, make sure you have a few tubers left over as seed potatoes, because the probability of getting exactly the same characteristics again via TPS sowing is low.

All information on the crosses and properties of the 86 different open-source TPS accessions can be found on the VARIETAS website.