I think as long as they're still alive when you dig them and the skins are thin, they're considered "new". I did great for a couple of weeks (though didn't sell out each week), this week not so much so I am leaving the Pontiacs in the ground for storage.

Slimy- Wish I could help you out with your potato problem. I planted about 250 pounds of seed potatoes, and I haven't got my seed potatoes back. It was so hot, so early and with the drought, this has been the first year of a potato crop failure.

I am not even going to waste my time digging the rest of them. Usually I sell 1,800 to 2,200 pounds of potatoes each year, this year maybe 50.

About "New Potatoes" somewhere I read (don't remember where) the definition of a new potato is anything less than 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter.

When we dig and sell potatoes, usually we just go out and dig what we think we will sell each week (100-150 lbs)on Sunday/Monday and bring them to the house. We start digging when we get 3 pounds in 2 feet. We usually yield about a 1 lb per foot of row space. We start selling at $1.50 per pound and then we we get bigger ones we usually drop the price to $1.00 a pound (never go lower than that).

Just to give you an idea what we do.

Jay

it doesn't seem to make much difference at my market whether you call them new potatoes or just potatoes. to me if the skin is tough then they are no longer new. the potatoes i dug by hand a few weeks after the plants flowered had easily scratched skin and i considered them new potatoes. the ones i am digging now with the tractor have tough skins and i wouldn't consider them new potatoes.
$2/lb at the market. $1.50/lb from the farm stand. 2 100' rows dug and 10 1/2 rows to go.

Technically, if the plant is still alive when dug, the potatoes are 'new' potatoes. the skins are not supposed to get tough until cured. Curing takes a couple of weeks in the shade to establish toughness needed for 'storage' potatoes.

This is almost too late for 'new' potatoes in my area. You will need to teach your customers the difference between small "B" potatoes and new potatoes. Show them how thin the skin is, it should be able peel just by rubbing your thumb against the potato. If the skin doesn't rub off, your potatoes are not 'new'. That's the only way a customer can tell, except by believing you. Unfortunately several vendors will tell customers that the potatoes are new, but the thumb test doesn't prove it.

New potatoes will command 4x the price of storage potatoes, if not more.

marla