Deep Frost Causes Limited Makah Ozette Potato Seed for 2020
Photo credit: Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
Due to an unusually deep frost, we regret to announce the majority of our Makah Ozette potato seed for this year’s distribution has been damaged. However, while this is a big loss, the crop failure has only temporarily interrupted the progress of our efforts to improve the availability of seed for MOP enthusiasts and school gardeners.
In 2019, Slow Food Seattle purchased all of the nuclear (ready to plant) and prenuclear stock (ready in one year to use as seed) from Ellensburg’s Irish Eyes when they had to close their business. We transported the seed to John Hoggan of Grand Teton Organics, who agreed to become our new Makah Ozette Potato Presidium partner.
Then, unfortunately, extreme weather variations affected Grand Teton Organics this past fall. In his fifty years of potato-growing experience, John reports that the very deep frost that hit the upper elevations of his farm has only occurred one other time, in 1985. Since fingerling tubers grow close to the surface, freezing temperatures destroyed most of our nuclear seed.
However, in a stroke of good fortune, our prenuclear seed stock was planted at a lower elevation and it has survived the cold. Grand Teton Organics will be able to use this healthy prenuclear seed stock to provide a seed crop that will be available for distribution in the spring of 2021.
In the meantime for this spring, Slow Food Seattle has a limited supply of potato seed primarily sourced from our own small, local planting that we will be distributing judiciously to Slow Food programmatic efforts such as school gardens.
If you are hoping to plant Makah Ozette potatoes in 2020, please contact us. Additionally, if there is anyone who has saved seed they would like to sell through our network, we’d love to hear from you: info@slowfoodseattle.org.