Milk Ranch Specialty Potatoes, LLC

Posted on November 17, 2009, updated December 18, 2010 From the time that I first saw them on "Dirtiest Jobs," I expected a lot from the owners in quality and service. I had never grown potatoes and particularly many vegetables in Washington state. I ordered two varieties, 2 lbs each and had them delivered too soon. They arrived in great shape on time but, I had to store them inside and I did so improperly. When it finally got warm enough to plant, the seed potatoes were a bit moldy, shriveled and looked horrible EXCEPT they all had numerous sprouting eyes. I planted them believing that they knew better than I. They grew well in my soil under the mounds of grass mulch and were absolutely delicious. My growing experience spurred me on to order more. Their customer service is what I expect from a small family garden store, yet better than I get from larger mail order plant shufflers.

I have never grown potatoes before, and may be starting a bit late for my area. I found this web site easy to navigate, easy to order, and in spite of the site "warnings" regarding expected delays in shipping at certain times, I received my order within about a week. The potatoes (1/2 lb each of 8 different varieties) all look very healthy, and there was even one extra, unlabeled potato in the box, so it will be fun to see what it turns out to be. I could not be happier with this vendor.

Great on selection, price, and shipping! Sent great info on how to handle and plant the potatoes. Well packaged! I thought the shipping was pretty speedy compared to other reviews left previous. Maybe something changed. Would highly recommend. Had to call them and order more spuds as the one that Henryfields was supposed to send me that were ordered in early Feb were not going to arrive until MAY. Order was sent out two days later from these folks! Very nice customer service. Will be returning next year!

I ordered potato starts from them well in advance and requested a ship date according to their instructions (3 weeks before I wanted to plant). Planting time arrived but I still did not have the potatoes. I emailed several times and called and I wrote a letter, then emailed again, now one month after they should have been planted and more than that since the potatoes should have arrived. Finally I got a terse email responses telling me to check my shipping date, which was clearly 2 mos earlier on my invoice. The potato starts finally arrived and looked quite good - only they weren't the specific cultivars I needed for my warm climate but, rather, substitutes and it was now much, much too late to plant them. So I spent $30 on nothing and would never, ever order from Milk Ranch again.

Ordered 25+ pounds of seed potatoes (10 diff types), along w/Egyptian walking onions and sunchokes. They arrived today and look wonderful - much better looking than the seed 'taters you seen at the feed store, wally world, etc... I mailed in my order, and only used their website to print off their catalog (in a handy .pdf file). A few of the potatoes I wanted were sold out by the time my order arrived, but they honored my request and replaced those out of stock ones w/early maturing ones. Very happy with their service and plan to do business with them again in 2009!

I ordered from Milk Ranch for the 2006 growing season and was very pleased. They are the only source I can find for the rose finn apple fingerlings (v. recommended). Was late with my ordering in 2007 so ended up buying seed potatoes locally...boring old yukon golds and red pontiacs. I'll be placing my 2008 potato order from Milk Ranch soon.

I bought several hundred pounds of seed potatoes from these people last spring (late April). I started the process in January, working with them. Because of our large order, they worked with us very nicely on the prices of the potatoes. They responded to all e-mails very quickly. (I would , however, agree with the criticism about the online ordering). Because we live not too very far away, I was able to go and pick up my seed potatoes from them myself (I was taking a trip to the area anyway, so saved on shipping). The guy who grows a lot of the potatoes showed me their huge state-of-the-art storage facility, which I can vouch was clean and nice. In addition, he offered to deliver the potatoes next year to a location even closer to me, where they have a processing facility. VERY nice people. I don't know why they aren't answering e-mails this late in the year, but I would suspect it has something to do with being VERY busy- the couple that runs this company has several very young children. and, honestly, August is not a time to plant seed potatoes in most places. Be aware: This is now the same company as Ronnigers.

Have tried since August 2007 to contact these folks. Their website is still up. Most of their potatoes are marked SOLD OUT. Have called and left voice message also have emailed - no response at all. Just left another voice message today 10/11/07. Anyone had success with them this year 2007??

I was a little nervous ordering from a company I had never heard of before. After reading the positive reviews on this site, I felt a lot more confident and placed my small order for seed potatoes. After seeing the charge appear on my card, I waited and waited. No potatoes. Called and got one call in return saying they were being resent. Again, days go by, no potatoes and now cannot get a return phone call or a return email. Finally demanded they credit my card and that did happen. Even emailed them expressing thoughts on their lack of customer service - no response. Would never order from them again or recommend.

Short version: So-so website, but excellent customer service and good-looking seed potatoes at great prices. Long version: I tried several times to place an order through their site, and received errors every time. I tried over a period of a couple weeks on two different computers. I got an email from one of their employees saying she noticed several failed order submissions, and asked if I wanted her to do the order manually. The company went above and beyond most customer service, going so far as to call me when they discovered one of the potatoes I wanted had "gone south" and asked if I wanted to wait a few days for the new harvest. I only ordered two pounds, so they were only making 4 bucks off me, but they treated me like a big money customer. Plus, they're the only place I could find for seed potatoes for a fall planting.

I like that they will let you combine potato types to make up the pound without charging a fortune as some other companies do; I asked them if I could and they were really friendly about it. I was disappointed, though, that the potatoes had very few eyes; some barely had 2. It may be that way with all mail order potatoes though. I prefer to select my own from a local seed store even if the varieties are fairly limited. I get a better crop that way.

Ordered potatoes from this company for the first time. Their email response was quick and friendly. I also emailed him at a later date and asked my shipping date to be moved up. I got a reply the next day stating no problems. Their prices are good, the service is good, and I will be glad to use them again. Thanks.............

We ordered some French fingerlings last year. We felt the prices were fair, shipping was timely, product was excellent. We have recommended this company to friends and family and will definately use them again.

Great selection of seed potatoes at a reasonable price. Order arrived when requested and the potatoes look good. I would certainly do business with this company again!