Seed potatoes: Timo or Annabelle

[Rosamunda]

Has anyone seen them in the shops yet? I've done Plantagen, Bauhaus, K-Rauta and a couple of small independent hardware stores: nothing.

I'm starting to wonder if there is a conspiracy to keep the prices high for Juhannus: only a few privileged farmers are able to buy them in time for the midsummer harvest!

(Plantagen has some imported seed potatoes: Maris Piper, King Edwards etc - but I'm looking for Finnish varieties)

[podzap]

If you don't understand Europe's history of gild, then maybe time to google up.

Even the best potatoes, garlics, etc, are sprayed with chemicals to prevent further growth before they hit the stores.

Only way to get a good sample of them would to be to go to a field and lift a few out of the ground, then grow them in a bucket year round. But that's illegal, so you can't do that.

[Rosamunda]

I googled up "Europes history of gild" and didn't hit any sites telling me where I can buy Timo seed potatoes but thanks anyway for taking time to answer my post.

[podzap]

I googled up "Europes history of gild" and didn't hit any sites telling me where I can buy Timo seed potatoes but thanks anyway for taking time to answer my post.

You probably didn't get any hits because I mispelled guild

Guild basically means trade protection. That's why you can't easily buy plumbing equipment if you don't have a plumber's license, electrical equipment if you don't have an electrician's license, etc. They are highly protective of these things here, all across Europe actually, as opposed to USA where anyone can buy anything they want and DIY.

With a quick google, I found some places where you can buy them, but you need to buy something like 1200kg at a time and you need to have the relevant business license - they are not for sale to private people.

[Rosamunda]

You do not need a licence to buy seed potatoes here: the Finnish varieties are widely available in the shops and online. Anyway, I have a business ID, that's not a problem. But my nearest Agrimarket is too far away and I don't want to plant a tonne and a half. Just enough for our own consumption as I don't plan to resell them (or at least, not all of them). I was just wondering if anyone had seen any on a shelf, in a shop, in the Helsinki area.