Irish Potatoes: Cash Crop of the Albemarle

Marjorie Berry, Information Specialist

When you think of North Carolina agricultural products, the first commodity that probably comes to mind is tobacco. But that is not the case here in the northeastern counties. Here, the Irish, or white, potato rules.

POTATO FARMER GASTON SMALL, SR., PASQUOTANK COUNTY, LATE 1940S.

The Small family has produced Irish potatoes in the region for five generations.

Courtesy of Marjorie Berry, Museum of the Albemarle collection.

Settlers to the Albemarle who came from Virginia in the mid-17th century began cultivating Irish or white potatoes as a staple for themselves, then as a commodity. The crop has held an important place in the area’s economy since then.

The major production area of commercially grown Irish potatoes in North Carolina is the Coastal Plain, near its rivers. There, the fertile soils, mild temperatures, and ample rainfall provide an ideal environment for their production.

“Seed” potatoes are planted in late February or early March. These consist of sliced potatoes, each with an “eye,” that will produce a potato plant. “New” potatoes can be harvested 50 to 60 days after planting, but fully mature potatoes take 80 to 100 days. The harvest starts in early June and can continue through August.

Potatoes grow underground and are harvested by machines known as potato diggers. They are then graded on conveyers that load them onto tractor-trailer trucks. Potatoes are delivered to market directly from the field, usually within 48 hours.

Today, North Carolina growers produce 16,000 acres of potatoes, mostly in Camden, Carteret, Currituck, Hyde, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Tyrell, and Washington counties.