BearHaven » Pimpernel Potato

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Pimpernel Potato

I received one Pimpernel potato at a seed-swap here in Thunder Bay in the spring of 2009 … and in 2011 I attended the same seed swap with a portion of the 52 pounds I harvested the third year (second generation). That’s how fast they increased.

My first Pimpernel gave me all these!

Anyone else every heard of the Pimpernel? I don’t turn up much on the web, except one site that gives its pedigree and says it was developed in Holland in the 1950s. My father-in-law, who came to Canada from Northern Ireland, thinks he remembers it from the old days when he drove a truck for a farm in “the old country”.

It’s an attractive red-skinned potato with shallow eyes. The one I received in 2009 hadn’t even begun to sprout, so I assumed it was a good keeper. Was it ever! Here’s a funny story. The ensuing fall, when I had harvested about 5 pounds, I put my potatoes away in the cold cellar … or so I thought. In February of 2010 I got curious about how they were keeping, and went to the cold cellar to look for them. They weren’t there! A search of the whole house resulted, and we eventually found them in a sealed plastic bucket that was being used to support a small humidifier (with a heating element in its base) in the bedroom. Yawks! I was afraid to open the bucket! But I did, and found my Pimpernels as healthy as ever, although a little sprouted. Once back in the cold cellar they calmed down, and I planted them successfully in May. And that’s why I have 52 pounds now.

In the second season I harvested over 50 pounds

I did try to cook some of them, since I now had a fair amount. Peeled and boiled them for 40 minutes, and found they’d mostly disintegrated. This is a very starchy potato, it seems, so I suggest boiling them for a short time and mashing, or using them as bakers.

For growing, I found it to be a longish-season potato, which gave it lots of time to be very productive. The oblong tubers are very uniform and of medium size, clean up nicely and heal if nicked during harvest. The plants do not die until the frost hits them in September – and then only reluctantly. The first year my plants got small flower buds but no flowers. The second year, many of the plants had very pretty dark red flowers.

Try the Pimpernel if you can get your hands on some! If you’re local, you can contact me to see if I have any extra to give away.

Pimpernel Potato Flower

3 Responses

Wim Leppers writes:
January 29th, 20213:48 amat

L.s,

after several searches for the “red pimpernel” I found your website on the internet.

I’m looking for this potatoe. I do live in the Netherlands, Holland where it originally was developped, but nowher is any information available nore the potato itself.

There you stated:

“I received one Pimpernel potato at a seed-swap here in Thunder Bay in the spring of 2009 … and in 2011 I attended the same seed swap with a portion of the 52 pounds I harvested the third year (second generation). That’s how fast they increased.

My first Pimpernel gave me all these!

Anyone else every heard of the Pimpernel? I don’t turn up much on the web, except one site that gives its pedigree and says it was developed in Holland in the 1950s.”

I’m looking for this potatoe. I do live in the Netherlands, Holland where it originally was developped

Nowhere is there any nformation available nore the potato itself.

If you still do have them (I do realize it’s quite a long time ago, byou’l never know) are you willing to send a few to my home adress in the Netherlands

I’m Willing to pay for the transport costs and would be very greatefull if you can help met to get this potato

With kind regards,,

Wim Leppers
mail:w.j.leppers@kpnmail.nl
Lonna Cobus writes:
April 2nd, 20216:26 amat

Yes i would love to have some as well. Trying to grow potatoes for a large family. We go through a ton of potatoes. All my other attempts only produced a supper or two worth. These sound wonderful. Please contact me. From Ontario.
Wendy writes:
April 2nd, 202111:32 amat

Hi Lonna [I replied to Wim Leppers via email].
Unfortunately, I no longer have the Pimpernel potatoes – but thanks for your message! It’s nice to know folks are reading my site. I grew the Pimpernel for close to ten years, after which it began to decline. This is typical with potatoes one saves from year to year. They pick up major or minor diseases or pathogens, which are carried forward with each year’s tubers, and gradually you lose production. By the last year, production was much lower and the potatoes would not keep.
This is why farmers use certified seed potatoes (aside from the law) – certified seed potato lines are begun with a very small amount of intensively tested tissue under strict greenhouse conditions, and only carry on for very few generations before they can no longer be sold as certified seed. Since Pimpernel is not a listed variety in Canada for seed production, there are no certified seed Pimpernel potatoes.
Through my Pimpernel adventure I have learned a lot about potatoes and potato production! Might I suggest you try to get seed potatoes of Chieftain, Red Pontiac, or Norland? They, too, are productive red-skinned potatoes. Hope this helps!