This is what needs to be planted in 2026, if your soul asks for not just a harvest, but specifically heroic sizes and tons, so that the buckets are filled from one garden bed, and your hands get tired from the weight. We're talking about varieties that won't let you down: for fluffy mashed potatoes, for perfect crispy fries and for flavorful baked potatoes. These are not just names, but time-tested favorites.
For puree use “Blueness” – a variety that has become a legend due to its high starch content. Its tubers are smooth, large, and when cooked, they themselves disintegrate into a tender, fluffy mass that absorbs butter and milk, turning into a cloud on the plate. Its yield is phenomenal; a bucket and a half can easily be harvested from a bush.
If your weakness is fried potatoes with a golden brown crust, then your champion is “Red Scarlett”. Its elongated, smooth, red-skinned tubers contain almost no excess starch, so the slices do not become mushy, but become crispy on the outside and remain tender on the inside. It is productive, unpretentious, and the tubers grow large, one to one.
And for whole baking there is no equal to this variety “Picasso”. These potatoes are real heavyweights, often exceeding half a kilogram. Under the thin skin with pink “cheeks” lies an oily, juicy pulp, which in the oven becomes tender and aromatic without turning into dry cotton wool.
The secret of giant tubers is simple: give them space (plant less often than usual), do not skimp on humus and ash in the hole when planting, and water them well at least once during drought during flowering. Plant these proven heroes, and in the fall you will dig with the same joy when the harvest really has nowhere to go.
