chris: Oh, I completely agree with you, and there’s nothing negative in your comment. We’ve applied for certification this year, so this was given some thought (I mentioned it only lightly here on the blog). I don’t really get into, well, political issues here, although skepticism about aspects of certification has been featured! I will say that, in a world that gets ever more regulated and restrictive (until it implodes, which may be next week…),  you can see certification mainly as a kind of insurance that says, on a formal, legal level, that we’re recognized as a bona fide, serious food producer, while being “only” a tiny farm… That may come in handy, or not.

Art: I guess it’s…all relative… :)

jerusha: This is my second season with Penta, only because it replaced Yukon Gold in Veseys organic selection of three varieties. They did fine last year, but with all that rain, it was completely weird weather, so I don’t have much of an opinion yet. So we’ll see how they do this year!

Dan: Maybe… Somehow, though, that seems like a BIG project. I think you have to grow a LOT of spuds for seed potatoes, to maintain health, genetics. And I also think there’s lots of inspection required, registration, REGULATION…particularly to make sure you’re not spreading around disease. What does sound like fun, although it takes forever (years), is breeding your own on a small scale.

Sasha: That sounds good!

ps. I’ve moved too. Jobs that is, found better work in Port Hope (finally!)… I’m transitioning from lake-work to the oak ridges moraine… It’s all about water!

Next year I will buy some extrajust for sprouting and planting if I cannot find a source for organic seed potatoes.

Have fun planting that many…you’ve got your work cut out for you! Kim