2008: International year of the potato
We’ve had rain 5 days going - a very good thing in this state (California) after a few drought years.
The garden is benefiting and especially the potatoes. I didn’t plant many but some green has bursted through.
This is the International year of the potato, so anointed by the United Nations.
The humble potato is a rather amazing food:
- Originally grown near the border of Peru and Bolivia 8,000 years ago
- Brought from Latin America to Europe in the 1500’s by Spaniards
- Grown all over the world in many different climates
- China is the largest grower, followed by India, the Russian Federation and the United States
- The worlds #4 food crop and #1 non-grain food
- Unlike the better known grains (wheat, corn/maise, rice) it’s NOT a globally traded commodity. Potatoes are not widely exported.
Potatoes don’t actually need dirt. Strange at that seems. You can grow them in virtually any pile of mulching type materials. Of course you can also grow them in dirt. Additionally, potatoes grow similarly to a (upside down) tree… vertical and horizontal. So you can continue to put material on top of the stem and leaves as they grow… leaving about 6″ visible.
I planted my potatoes in a small no dig bed and a recycle bin we weren’t using. I throw straw on top them as they sprout up. If I had planted them in dirt, I would mound the dirt up around them.
You’ll know the potatoes are ready when the above ground green plant turns brown.
Potatoes prefer cooler - but not cold - weather. Plan to harvest yours before frost. Germination takes 1-3 weeks. Depending on the variety, they take 3-4 months to mature. You can grow a spring and a fall crop.
A potato seed is an “eye” from a potato. The eye sprouts to form the tubor. You can buy “potato starts” or take a potato and cut it into pieces, each piece having 1-3 eyes. Plant each one about 6″ deep.
Keep them well moist until they sprout, then back off some on the water.
Potatoes have always been relatively inexpensive so folks tend to not grow them… the “cheaper to buy than grow” argument. However, potatoes are a fairly heavily sprayed crop and organic potatoes aren’t so inexpensive. As well, regular potatoes have seen a hefty price increase this year. Go for fresh, go for organic, grow your own.
Here are a few more like this one:
