This tetraploid variety produces smallish, almost black skin and flesh (sometimes with a bit of whitish marbling) tubers that look pretty amazing to people who are used to supermarket varieties.
- Plant: Upright.
- Ploidy: Tetraploid
- Flowers: mauve
- Tubers: elongated. Medium eyes. Dark purple/black skin and flesh with a little white marbling
- Best for: boiling and salads.
- Production: Each plant should produce about 10 eating size tubers (5-10cm across) and a few small ones. About 1 kg per plant.
- Other:
- Planting: Planting 1st September gives you a harvest 1st Dec (98 days). Chit and replant immediately for a harvest in March/April, then another crop for July harvest if you have few frosts. Place last tubers for replanting next spring in a dark, dry place, or, place in a cool, dry full sun spot. Either way they will hold until September planting even if they produce small sprouts in storage.
- Commercial use? No, they do not produce well enough
- Fertility: Grim Reaper, being a diploid is not self fertile but if planted near other diploids will set many seed berries.
Growing timetable
- Planting to sprouting – 12-14 days (after storing tubers for 4 weeks)
- Sprouting to flowering – 5 weeks
- Planting to harvest – 95 days (just over 3 months)
Storage timetable – time from harvest to starting to sprout
- In dark at room temp: 70 days
- In light at room temp: 22 days
- Replanted directly after harvest: 28 days
