La Ratte

Medbury Gardens · April 20, 2010

I recently had a 60+ people come to my place as part of a garden tour to look over how i do my seed saving,most were new to seed saving but there was one man who turned up who is now in his nineties has been for most of his life one of New Zealands leading heirloom seed savers,a lot of the seeds had been pasted to him within his family but are now been maintained some by myself and by others within the seed saving network i belong to.
http://www.koanga.org.nz/

A few days after a parcel arrived from him (Henry Harrington) with a long letter and a few La Ratte potatoes,in his letter he says that this potatoes history goes back to 16th century France but a Google search as only turned up a history that only goes back to the late 19th century.

Does anyone have more info on the origins this potato or has experience grow it??

**Tom Wagner** · April 20, 2010

Quote:

A few days after a parcel arrived from him (Henry Harrington) with a long letter and a few La Ratte potatoes,in his letter he says that this potatoes history goes back to 16th century France but a Google search as only turned up a history that only goes back to the late 19th century.

Does anyone have more info on the origins this potato or has experience grow it??

Medbury Gardens asked this question ------and the origins of just about any FINGERLING class of potato variety seems wrapped in mystery! I have grown La Ratte ever since the growers in Bakersfield opted for this variety over the Russain Banana Fingerling since La Ratte tended to produce less knobby potatoes and the packers related that the customers like them better.

What history I have is sketchy...

Quote:

The Ratte (also known as La Ratte or Asparges) is a small potato with a unique nutty flavor and smooth, buttery texture. The variety originated in France or Denmark in the late 19th century and is a favorite of French chefs and works great for roasting and boiling.

Linked to the Kenosha Potato Project....

Quote:

La Ratte (aka Ratte, Corne de Mouton)
Small-medium, fingerling type tubers, originated in France 1872. The name translates to "the mouse", which in German translates to "Ratte". The latter originates from Austria - I'm planning to grow them both next year and compare for difference in the two strains. Also you may find the name La Ratte d'Ardèche - this name points to a very specific mountain area of France - only tubers grown in that area can be named "d'Ardèche"!

I am hoping that the genome projects will shed some light on the origins of Fingerlings as to the relatedness within all other known potatoes that have the genome done.
Case in point is one that I will have to get......

CIP 801092 (DM 1-3 516 R44) is a diploid fingerling type that could be used to create hybrids with tuberosum with fingerling types. A genone study was done on this clone recently.

For a good picture of one of the fingerlings with the genome study...

Quote:

These are fingerling potatoes from one of the genomic lines sequenced by researchers. Credit: Photo by Dave ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫s. http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/ne...ientistsma.jpg

I don’t know which variety it is. And sorry for the musical notes. I mispronounce his name too! His name is pronounced DOW-sha's.

So many fingerlings have no pedigree info. Kifli is a great fingerling. Jogeva is also. Rose Finn Apple is another. French Fingerling yet another. Purple Peruvian is well known.......all of these have offspring in my breeding work....and I will have to make those more available in the future

This season in my crosses... I hope to use Harlequin....a cross between Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple.

Tom Wagner.

Medbury Gardens · April 20, 2010

Thanks for info Tom,in Henry's letter also he say's it doesn't flower and only grows about 30cm tall,which seems rather odd.

Looking forward next growing season already

Tomaat · April 23, 2010

MG, I grew La Ratte last year...very yummm, we love it so much that it will come back each year!
I am not sure exactly about it's history, but it said to be an old French heirloom.

The haulms of La Ratte is over 30cm (around 35 to 40cm). The flowers are light purple, they bloomed but produced almost no berry! I said almost because I managed to collect 2 berries (a mature and a immature one) out of 30 plants

. Yes, I have sowed the La Ratte TPS... will let you know how it goes.
Here is a picture of La Ratte from last year:

Tomaat · April 23, 2010

Oh, I forgot to mentioned, it is not a storage type, infact the tubers chitted 3 months or so after harvest !
The trick to have La Ratte for storage is to grow them as late as possible.

Medbury Gardens · April 23, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomaat

The flowers are light purple, they bloomed but produced almost no berry!

Henry did say he was growing them in heavy clay soil which may explain why he had no flowers.
It will be intersting to see what's produced from the TPS from your La Ratte Tomaat

Tomaat · April 23, 2010

I sowed 30 seeds and got 22 seedlings so far, still got some small amount of TPS if you want them ?
I am also curious about the outcome, will keep you updated

.

GunnarSK · May 14, 2010

The Ratte (also known as La Ratte or Asparges) is a small potato with a unique nutty flavor and smooth, buttery texture. The variety originated in France or Denmark in the late 19th century and is a favorite of French chefs and works great for roasting and boiling.

My old mother in Denmark grows "Asparges", and I will ask her to save and collect if she gets any berries, and maybe give a couple of seed tubers to me.

wmontanez · October 12, 2010

Tomaat how did it go with La Ratte TPS trial?

April 20, 2010	#1
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	La Ratte I recently had a 60+ people come to my place as part of a garden tour to look over how i do my seed saving,most were new to seed saving but there was one man who turned up who is now in his nineties has been for most of his life one of New Zealands leading heirloom seed savers,a lot of the seeds had been pasted to him within his family but are now been maintained some by myself and by others within the seed saving network i belong to. http://www.koanga.org.nz/ A few days after a parcel arrived from him (Henry Harrington) with a long letter and a few La Ratte potatoes,in his letter he says that this potatoes history goes back to 16th century France but a Google search as only turned up a history that only goes back to the late 19th century. Does anyone have more info on the origins this potato or has experience grow it??

October 12, 2010	#9
wmontanez Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: MA Posts: 776	Tomaat how did it go with La Ratte TPS trial? __________________ Wendy

April 23, 2010	#5
Tomaat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 154	Oh, I forgot to mentioned, it is not a storage type, infact the tubers chitted 3 months or so after harvest ! The trick to have La Ratte for storage is to grow them as late as possible.

May 14, 2010	#8
GunnarSK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland 52° N Posts: 363	The Ratte (also known as La Ratte or Asparges) is a small potato with a unique nutty flavor and smooth, buttery texture. The variety originated in France or Denmark in the late 19th century and is a favorite of French chefs and works great for roasting and boiling. My old mother in Denmark grows "Asparges", and I will ask her to save and collect if she gets any berries, and maybe give a couple of seed tubers to me.