Can you recommend some yummy and unique varieties of potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams I can plant in my garden this year?
Grace Irving
Tacoma, Washington
My favorite sweet potato is ‘Red Wine Velvet’ of the orange varieties, ‘Brazil White’ of the white-fleshed varieties, and ‘Camote Morado’ (a Nicaraguan variety) of the purple-fleshed sweet potatoes.
I grow 53 varieties of regular potatoes (all are favorites or I would not grow them), but I think ‘La Ratte d’Ardeche’ is one of the best. It is favored by chefs in Paris, as well. My favorite way to cook ‘La Ratte’ potatoes is to boil or steam them until al dente (about 12 minutes). Then I smoke the potatoes for 20 minutes over beechwood chips. The result is heavenly, and makes a great side dish for just about anything.
— William Woys Weaver, contributing editor
These rare varieties are unlikely to show up in garden centers, but you may be able to find them at farmers markets listed on the Local Harvest
website. You can find mail-order sources using our Seed and Plant Finder
. — MOTHER