The Estonian Agricultural Museum in Ülenurme is located about 7 kilometres from Tartu, the largest city of Southern-Estonia and Culture Capital of Europe 2024. Our museum garden area is 0,6 hectares in size, but only about 0,2 ha is in use at one time. The soil of the field is clay-sand.
Every year, we plant different local crop varieties to show our visitors and use in education
programmes. “Sangaste” winter rye, several root vegetables as well as flax is grown.
Our garden was ploughed last fall using MTZ 82, a front axle drive tractor from Belarus. The
same machine was used to cultivate the field in spring and make furrows for planting.
In 2024 we planted our potato seeds by hand on the 15th of May. Pupils in the 8th grade from the local Ülenurme Gymnasium helped with planting.
View of the potato field on June 29, 2024.
Information on potatoes grown in the museum garden.
This year we are cultivating 12 varieties: Väike verev, Odenwaldi sinine, Jõgeva kollane,
Ando, Reet, Teele, Maret, Sarme, Tiina, Piret, Sulev, Olev. These varieties were picked to
showcase the diversity of potatoes. They have different coloured blooms and the tubers are also in a variety of shapes and colours.
Most of these varieties have been developed by the Estonian Crop Research Institute, formerly “Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute”. We work closely with them, and they provide us with some new seeds every year.
Variety “Maret” on June 29, 2024.
The potatoes are growing nicely. 9 out of 12 varieties have started to bloom by the 5th of July. According to our gardener Viivi, the potatoes have been fertilized using horse manure provided by our museum’s ponies. The potato plants have been hilled a couple of times this year. Now that the plants are too big for hilling, Viivi has weeded them by hand.
Even though Colorado potato beetles can be found in Estonia, they have not found their way to our museum’s garden. Now that it has been raining, there are some early signs of potato blight as well as viruses on the leaves.
View of the potato field on July 5, 2024.
Two of the oldest varieties we are growing are “Väike verev” (“Small russet”) and
“Odenwaldi sinine” (“Odenwälder Blaue” – 1901, from Germany). “Väike verev” has small
tubers with excellent taste and is grown as a gourmet potato. It has been grown in Estonia
since the late 19th century.
For Estonians, “Jõgeva kollane” (“Jõgeva Yellow”, registered in 1946) is a legendary variety.
It was one of the first potato varieties with yellow flesh developed in Estonia. From 2010 it is
grown as a conservation variety.
The variety “Odenwaldi Sinine” on July 5, 2024.
The variety “Jõgeva kollane” on July 5, 2024.
“Sulev” (registered in 1960) was developed as a livestock fodder. It was among the world’s
top 7 varieties in the 1970s grown throughout the Soviet Union. At that time, “Sulev” was
grown on 80% of all potato fields in Estonia. Today, it is not really cultivated anymore.
According to Indrik, our Museum educator and gardening expert, “Sulev’s” yield was the
biggest among the potatoes grown in the museum garden last year. However, it was also the
only variety not damaged by mice who “sampled” our 2023 potato crop.
From left Maret, Sulev, Odewaldi Sinine, Reet, Piret, Jõgeva Kollane.
“Tiina”, registered in 2017 (developed by Aide Tsahkna and Terje Tähtjärv), is the newest
potato variety grown in our museum garden. This medium-maturing variety has relatively low
starch and high sugar content and is well suited for boiling as it does not break down.
The variety “Tiina” on July 5, 2024.
And finally, the latest picture of the potato field from the Estonian Agricultural Museum (from July 26 2024):
Text by Mari-Liis Tammiste (Collection manager-researcher), Indrik Unt (Museum educator),
Viivi Vaher (Gardener).
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