GARDENER'S READING ROOM
Edibles

The Not So Humble Potato

No matter how it’s sliced, the potato is the most widely cultivated vegetable in the world. Even though it originated high in the Peruvian Andes, its adaptability has spread it from the tropics to the Arctic. We often associate the “common” potato with Ireland. Before its introduction, Ireland was an impoverished country, its cool moist climate unsuited to most grains. The introduction of the potato allowed the population to skyrocket, as small plots could now feed a family. The potato is also a very healthy food, with a good balance of calories, protein, and vitamins.

It takes 10 pounds of seed potatoes to plant 100 feet of row, which should yield 80 –100 pounds. Not a bad return for a little effort! There are hundreds of varieties—Sky carries about 10 that do well in our region. We only get one shipment per year, so buy the variety you want when you see it—store them in the refrigerator if you’re not ready to plant.

Planting should be done early in spring. Many people believe that potatoes (and all other underground vegetables—carrots, beets, etc.) should be planted at the dark of the moon. The day before you plant them, cut them (if need be) into about egg-sized pieces with at least 2 eyes and let them air dry. Plant them 3-4” deep to start, a foot or more apart. Once they’re up, fertilize with a tomato-type fertilizer, and start hilling them. To hill them, cover the vines with 4-6” soil until only the tips are showing. The potatoes will set tubers along the submerged stems.

To prevent diseases, be sure NOT to lime your potato bed—lime can promote the disease scab. Also, rotate your crops—don’t grow potatoes in the same place year after year, or where tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers have been. (All these plants are members of the same family, Solanaceae, and they can transmit soil-borne diseases to each other.)

With most varieties you can start digging for “new potatoes” after the plants start flowering. If you want potatoes for storage, however, choose late season varieties and leave them in the ground as long as possible—preferably until the vines die back. If you can rub the skin off with your thumb, the potato is too tender to store—eat it now! “Ripen” the skins of your keepers by leaving them in a dry, fairly warm place for a few days. Store your potatoes in a cool, DARK place—but not the fridge. Refrigerated potatoes will turn some of their starches to sugar—if yours do that, put them at room temperature for a week or so until the sugars turn back.

DO NOT store your potatoes in a well-lit place, or they will turn green. Green on or under the potato skins indicates the presence of the poisons Solanine and Chaconine, so if you see green, peel or cut it off. (Remember, another member of the potato-tomato family is deadly nightshade.) If you store them properly, however, you can enjoy your harvest until this time next year.

By Cathy Revell, W.C.N.
Skylights Winter/Spring 2000, Vol 14, No. 1

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