Maintenance and scaling up potato growing and consumption heritage in Northern Baltic region to build up resilient communities

MainPotRe

Heritage potato day in the Kupittaa Allotment Garden

14 May 2024

On May 9th the Finnish partners of the MainPotRe project, Luonnonvarakeskus and Kupittaa Allotment Garden, organized a heritage potato-themed afternoon in Turku with collaborator museologist at the University of Turku and the Turku 4H Association. The day had about 280 visitors.

Technical details

The program included potato information, presentations of the booklet of potato recipes from austerity-era 1940s Finland, the MainPotRe potato survey, and certified seed potatoes. The MainPotRe project was presented by researcher Maarit Heinonen from Luke.

In addition, tours were arranged to the allotment garden to display the plot, on which 1940-style kitchen plants have been grown for two years. In the plot grows a potato called “Ruusunperuna” which is one of the synonyms for ‘Early Rose’ in Finland. The potato was received from a hobby farmer in the region, where it has been grown for several decades in one family. Another potato grown in the plot is the dark-shelled unknown variety locally called ‘Hiliman potato’. One of the allotment gardeners has grown it for a long time in the Kupittaa allotment garden.

In the heritage potato day, children and childlike people could make potato art by using the using the traditional potato printing method. A desired pattern is carved into a large, split potato as a stamp. The surface of the potato needs to be dried with paper towels, smeared with watercolor paint, and then printed on paper.

For lunch, a potato dish and dessert made from a potato recipe booklet “Pelastajana pottu. Pula-ajan perunaruokaohjeita”.

Text and photos Maarit Heinonen, Luke

The media release 7.5.2024 (in Finnish):

https://www.utu.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/uutinen/millaista-oli-kaupunkiviljely-sota-ajan-turussa-kupittaan-siirtolapuutarhan