Adirondack Blue Potato

Solanum tuberosum 'Adirondack Blue'

vegetable

Adirondack Blue is a Cornell-bred mid-season blue potato released in 2003, with deep purple skin and bright violet flesh that holds its color through cooking. The high-yielding plant produces large oblong tubers loaded with anthocyanin pigments, making it a striking and nutritious specialty potato for fries, salads, and roasting.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Beans — Bush beans fix nitrogen and may discourage Colorado potato beetle
• Horseradish — Corner plantings deter Colorado potato beetle and may improve disease resistance
• Marigolds — Root exudates suppress soil nematodes that damage tubers
• Cilantro — Flowers attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps that hunt aphids and beetles

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Colorado potato beetle →

  Hand-pick adults and crush yellow egg masses on undersides of leaves; rotate potatoes out of the bed for 3 years

• Late blight →

  Plant certified disease-free seed, avoid overhead watering in cool wet weather, and remove infected plants immediately

• Wireworms →

  Avoid planting after sod; trap by burying potato slices and removing them weekly

• Potato scab →

  Keep soil pH below 5.5 in scab-prone beds, maintain even moisture during tuber set, and rotate

🌾 Harvest & storage

Dig new potatoes when plants bloom; full storage harvest comes 2 weeks after the vines die down. Brush off soil (do not wash) and cure in a dark room at 60F for 2 weeks before storing at 38 to 45F with high humidity. The blue color holds through boiling, mashing, and roasting, though microwaving tends to dull it.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Roughly 77 calories per 100 g cooked with 2 g fiber, 19.7 mg vitamin C, and 421 mg potassium. The deep purple flesh adds high levels of anthocyanin antioxidants (the same class found in blueberries), giving Adirondack Blue notably higher antioxidant capacity than white potatoes.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the tubers, not the green parts. Potato leaves, stems, sprouts, and any green-tinged or sprouting tubers contain solanine and should not be eaten. Store tubers in the dark, and cut away any green or sprouts before cooking.