potatoes, potatoes

On Sunday, a week after cutting down most of my badly blight damaged (Late Blight) potato plants, I found more blight damage. Actually all my varieties now show a lot of blight spots. But the earlier varieties are worse off. The Russet foliage (a late variety) is nice and green still, but leaves have lots of brown/moldy looking spots. The Red Gold (early variety) plants were yellowed falling over and with brown/moldy leaf spots. Its normal for the plants to die back, and I don't know how much the blight has affected this timing.

I cut off all foliage from the Red Golds and left the Russets and Green Mountain for now. Then we harvested a single plant of Red Gold. I was really pleased with the tubers! A dozen pretty red potatoes, the smallest were golf ball sized, 2 lbs total weight.

We also harvested all of the fingerlings that had volunteered in my paths. A total of 4 lbs of nice small potatoes. How exciting. And its nice to have open paths again.

There was no sign of any blight damage to the tubers. I will wait to harvest more since leaving them in the ground at least two weeks is supposed to kill the blight spores in the living plant material. Plus the potatoes keep fine underground, better than in my kitchen. I'll harvest as I need them. Or when I want to replant the bed.

And then, last-of-all, I got out the yellow spray bottle of Copper soap and heavily sprayed all the foliage of the potatoes and tomatoes. Maybe that will help the Russets get a bit bigger.




Here are photos of the Late Blight damage on the potato foliage:



potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
late blight (Phytophthora infestans)

fighting late blight - organic copper spray

Well, today I bought a bottle of copper sulfate spray (Concern copper soap fungicide). My dad says this is the only organic remedy for Late Blight. I'm planning to use this on my tomato and potato plants at my plot tomorrow.

My dad's friend Tom, a serious gardener, uses mancozeb in regular applications on his tomatoes starting in early spring. He says the only problem with using copper sulfate against Late Blight is that it doesn't work. Hmmm. But mancozeb is a pretty serious chemical.

My potatoes don't seem to be too badly off. A bit of leaf damage here and there. I'm gradually removing the plants and so far the tubers are great.

But Late Blight has already killed half of my 16 tomato plants (11 different heirloom varieties grown from seeds at home started on March 21st). Unlike last year's fungus in my garden, Septoria Leaf Spot, which gradually defoliated my plants, Late Blight this year has gotten into the stems of my tomato plants.

This is what Late Blight looks like on my tomatoes. This is what it looks like on my potatoes.

I suspect that gardeners with nice looking tomatoes right now in our community plots are using mancozeb or a similar chemical fungicide.

Its just hard to fight fungi when the weather is so wet. (And I hear that Late Blight infected seedlings were distributed by chain retailers in the NE, like Home Depot and Walmart.)

In a community plot, these fungi are spread all over by the wind. My tomatoes at home are looking beautiful, isolated from other gardens by many houses and yards. Maybe serious chemicals are the only way to go in a community plot? After a second bad year, it seems like a consideration for next year. Alternatively I could forgo tomatoes in my plot.

If you have Late Blight symptoms, it's recommended that you remove affected plants, bag them in plastic and dispose in the trash (or bury at least 2 feet deep). Pretty serious methods if you need to cart several big bags out of your plot. And this only works if EVERYONE in the community garden also does this. If not, everyone should either forget the tomatoes next year or all get some chemical fungicide.

I'd sure love to hear your comments!

In any case, I'll be spraying away with my copper sulfate tomorrow....

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
late blight (Phytophthora infestans)

early baked potatoes

No photo. We ate them all. But they were yummy.

I baked two of my big early Russets that I dug yesterday. I think early potatoes are usually boiled for potato salad. But I can say that early Russets are fantastic! We topped them with Boursin cheese (gilding the lily!) and served with chiogga beets, fresh salad greens and bay scallops. Ahhh....

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

my first potato harvest

I cut down lots of my potato plants today because many have late blight. It looks like the potatoes are OK though. This is a pile of Russets I dug. They were volunteers in one of my paths. I was impressed with how many came from one plant. And how big they are already. They sure tasted yummy.



potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

wet July potato plants

My rain gauge says almost 4 inches of rain in the past week! Wow!

After reading about Late Blight in the news letter from Piccadilly Farm (my post from yesterday), I took a close look this evening at my potato plants. They look great overall, but there are a few nasty leaf spots here and there. I suppose it could be late blight starting in my patch.

I'm planning to start my potato harvest this weekend. Most of my varieties have finished blooming and are fruiting already. (Love those cute little potato fruits! photo below) A good time to start digging early potatoes. Especially the Fingerlings (volunteers from last year in my path), Red Norlands, and Red Golds. I'll leave the Russets and Green Mountains a while yet.


This is a POTATO fruit!

I also checked on my tomato plants today, which are also susceptible to late blight and other wet weather problems. They seem fine. No moldy spots. A few yellowing lower leaves that I removed. Lots of weeds I pulled and lots of sucker growth I removed. (Several of my Opalka plants seemed to be especially yellow on the lower leaves.) Overall OK. The plants are about 2-4 feet tall now. Flowers, but no signs of any fruit yet.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
late blight (Phytophthora infestans)

new potatoes

Talk about delicious! Ahhhh....

I let a number of volunteer potatoes plants grow this year in my paths and my cabbage bed. I guess I missed some spuds last fall and they sprouted this spring. This week, the plants began shading the cabbage too much and I pulled them out. The prize was a few tiny little baby red potatoes on the roots.

These were so young and tender that the skins almost rubbed off when I washed them.

I boiled them 3 minutes, then threw them in the pan to roast next to the steak kebabs. I can't even describe how good they were!

When are potatoes ripe? I was asked about how early you can harvest potatoes. And what about unripe, green potatoes? Aren't they poisonous?

Oh my. Big question.

It turns out that green potatoes ARE toxic (if you eat an entire large green one, you'll probably feel sick). But the green is not from being unripe, but is produced when potatoes are exposed to sunlight. This causes them to make chlorophyll, which is green but not poisonous, and solanine, which is toxic but not green.

So any age or size potato can be green/toxic if it grows above ground, but baby potatoes of any age are fine to eat.

I've read that you can start to harvest potatoes 2-3 weeks after the plants finish blooming. (I pulled these baby potatoes before the plants had even budded and they were yummy.) Early potatoes will be small.

Potatoes will be fully grown when the plants die back. Die back timing depends on the variety. Last year my fingerlings died back in mid July. Last year, I harvested some potatoes then, some in the early fall and still more in the spring after the ground thawed. All were delicious.

It seems to me that you can never dig all of the potatoes in a bed and there'll always be a new crop of volunteers the next year.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

potato blossoms

I find potato flowers very interesting and pretty. My Russets have a pinkish color and the Red Norlands are white. They seem to be blooming early this year. I don't think mine bloomed until late June last year.

Potatoes are in the family Solanaceae and their flowers resemble tomato, eggplant, pepper, chili and Petunia flowers. Flowers are funnel shaped, with five fused petals. The stamens are present in multiples of four. The ovaries are superior. The hypogynus gynoecium is a syncarp located obliquely in relation to the median! What do you know!

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

potato sprouts

Lots of spuds coming up! Exciting. As they grow up, I fill in the trenches with dirt until the trenches are filled in, always leaving the top leaves of the plants uncovered and in the sun.
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

a happy Easter with freshly dug potatoes

The over wintered potatoes I dug on Good Friday were grilled to perfection today (with onions) by the head griller here (my spouse). Really nice with spring lamb, broccoli and asparagus, spinach salad and dyed eggs. We were joined by my parents and had a good time together.

I had a big surprise on awakening - kind of like Christmas - the Easter bunny left a couple gifts for me right in the middle of the dining room: a big red wheel barrow, a new rake and a garden shovel! All of which I have been looking for. Wonderful!



Some of the over wintered potatoes were a bit ratty looking on the edges, but I peeled this off and they were crisp and creamy white underneath. I remember last fall I was in a hurry to dig them and make room for a fall planting of greens. I missed many small ones and some big ones. I considered using these for seed potatoes, but I have plenty from mail order. And I was really pleased to have a homegrown vegetable for the Easter table.

My old potato patch was in an area of the plot that will be my main path this year. So as I dug, I shoveled soil into my new beds to raise them more. My new potato bed will be a little bigger and in a different spot this year.




potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

good friday for planting potatoes

Good Friday is a traditional day for planting potatoes. I didn't get mine in today, but I did dig up about 2 pounds of nice little potatoes that I missed last fall. They'll be good roasted with my Easter lamb. A little rosemary, a little garlic, ahh.....

And I measured my potato patch today: 11 by 3 ft. I noticed that some of the potatoes I dug had started to sprout a little already, so looks like it is time to plant. Hopefully I'll get mine in next week - but the peas have priority and they're not in yet. I'm running behind this year....

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

seed potato delivery

My potatoes have arrived! I ordered 5 varieties from Moose Tubers in Maine. Way back in mid January. I have the bed all planned out. I need to turn it and then dig trenches and then the taters can go in.

I have the following: F. Fingerling (1 lb), Dk R Norland (2.5 lbs), Rio Grande Russet (2.5 lb), Red Gold (2.5 lb), and Green Mtn (2.5 lbs). That's 10 lbs of regular potatoes and 1 lb of fingerlings.

I looked up potato growing information from Johnny's:

CULTURE: Well-drained soils of a wide pH range are suitable.

PREPARING SEED TUBERS: With a knife or seed cutting machine cut the tubers into pieces roughly 1 1/2-2 oz. (1-1 1/4" diameter), with at least one "eye" on each piece. It is best to cut seed potatoes at least a day ahead of planting to allow the cut surfaces to dry. We try to supply "B" size tubers, intentionally graded on the small side for seed use, as they do not need cutting. Potatoes are tolerant of cool soil and moderate frost. In early- to mid-spring, plant cut or whole seed pieces 2-3" deep, 12" apart, in rows 30-36" apart. Plants will emerge 2-3 weeks later, sooner in warmer soil. When the plants are about a foot tall, hill them with a continuous 6-8" high mound of soil by hoeing from each side of the row. (Some growers hill a second time 2-3 weeks later.) Hilling ensures your potatoes will grow protected from sunlight which causes "greening".

INSECT PESTS: Row covers work great to exclude potato beetles! Otherwise, scout for yellow potato beetle eggs on leaf undersides and crush them. Control potato beetle larvae up to 3/16" long with special BT insecticide, combined with 5% rotenone or pyrethrin for larger larvae and adults (refer to Index for "Insecticides").

DISEASES: The best disease control is fertile soil and irrigation when needed to keep the crop growing strongly. Scab (scabby patches on potatoes) is largely avoided if soil is not allowed to become dry.

HARVEST: Young, small, "new" potatoes can be harvested beginning about 7-8 weeks after planting. In fall, after foliage is dry or when tubers have reached full size, dig the entire crop, allowing surfaces to dry before putting into storage containers. Store in a cool, but not freezing (ideally 35-45°F), dark place. AVG.

PLANTING RATE: 10 lb. avg. 80-100' at 12" spacing. Approx. 8-10 pieces/lb. Fingerling type: approx. 20 pieces/lb., plants 20').

I have a 15 x 3 foot bed. So 45 ft of row. (Hmmm. I have a lot to share with David. He'll be pleased.) I'll do a full row of Russets and half a row of each of the rest. Russets (15 ft = 2 lbs). Norland (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Red Gold (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Green Mtn (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Fingerlings (5 ft = 1/3 lb).

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

tgif

Ahh, the best use yet for potatoes. Cold River vodka. And its made in southern Maine, which is almost local for me (120 mi away).

Today's high temp will be 10*F. A good reason to stay inside, thumb through seed catalogs and enjoy a little sip of a potato beverage. I like it on ice. Ahhh.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

cooking potatoes

I ran into a very nice woman and dog the other day and we walked around the fields and talked. She's a good cook and, when I told her I grow potatoes, she asked "what do you do with potatoes?" (with her expression implying "why on earth would anyone want to eat potatoes...")

I sheepishly told her, "well I like to make French fries....." Then I thought it best to change the subject.

But I do enjoy cooking with potatoes.

In early summer, when I first dig small handfuls of new potatoes, I boil them briefly, chop, toss with olive oil or mayonnaise and herbs, and then serve as a very simple potato salad on greens with fresh peas.

Later we roast new fingerlings on the grill. Parboil no more than 4 minutes, toss with olive oil and rosemary, and then roast on a metal roasting tray. Yummy with a nice local grilled fish, fowl or meat.

And once the summer squash is coming out of your ears, I layer big white potatoes and sweet yellow squash in a casserole with onions, mild cheese and bread crumbs. This one goes best with a chardonnay and a big bouquet of garden roses. (I can't wait for summer....)

In the fall, when big baskets of crisp round tubers have been dug, there are my husband's favorites, fluffy baked Russets and pan-fried potatoes for breakfast with onions and peppers.

Unfortunately there is winter too. I didn't grow enough garden potatoes myself to last past fall, but I bought bags of beautiful spuds grown at our local CSA farm. (BTW: Why do these taste so much fresher and crispier and more flavorful than store bought? I can't figure this one out. Are the store bought ones last year's? Were they stored in an oven?) Anyway, I've been using these potatoes in warm soups. On New Year's Day we enjoyed potato pancakes with breakfast. And again I'm working to perfect my French fries. Photos and recipes of these winter versions of potatoes are here:




Potato pancakes (recipe from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marion Morash)

1/2 lb potatoes (about 5), peeled and grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1 Tbs cream
olive oil for frying

Squeeze potatoes dry in a towel. Mix with egg all ingredients except oil. Heat oil to cover bottom of frying pan. Add potato mix and flatten it on pan. Fry about 3-5 minutes per side or until well browned. Serve hot.




French Fried potatoes (and other roots):

(I have a nice new fryer with a thermostat that's very nice for fries. The important thing is not to overload it. Small batches work best.)

Potatoes: wash and slice potatoes, and then rinse and dry with a towel. Fry 3 min in preheated vegetable oil at 340*F. Drain and cool. Heat oil to 375*F. Fry until browned (2-4 min). Drain and serve immediately. With sea salt...

Carrots, parsnips or beets: Wash, peel and slice. Heat oil to 375*F. Fry until browned (2-4 min). Drain and serve immediately. With sea salt...

Skippy's vegetable recipes
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

more on the International Year of the Potato

Here's a very nice video on the Year of the Potato pointed out to me by Patrick.

Some interesting points from the video:

- 4,500 potato varieties are native to Peru. The shapes, size and colors of the native potatoes are a revelation. The names, too.

- More than 80 per cent of these are now preserved in a gene bank in Lima

- Some of these varieties may be several thousand years old and they are being hand down from generation to generation by the Andean farmers....

- Potatoes produce more food nutrition with less energy and less time than any of our other staple food crops

- We would never argue that potatoes should supplant rice or wheat or maize, but we're arguing for diversification of the food security portfolio and putting as much attention to potatoes and the other roots and tubers as we are to grains. The grains are particularly susceptible to some of the climate change problems

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

my seed potato order

I didn't know 2008 was the UN year of the Potato.

The International Year of the Potato has raised awareness of the potato’s fundamental importance as a staple food of humanity. But it also had a very practical aim: to promote development of sustainable potato-based systems that enhance the well-being of producers and consumers and help realize the potato's full potential as a "food of the future"

Ah yes, a "food of the future". I was thinking the same. But in a less global sense. I'd like to expand my own little potato patch this year.

2008 was my second year growing potatoes. I grew a few plants in 2007 and they were great. So in 2008, I planted a patch with two 15 foot rows. I planted a mix of fingerlings from a bag I bought at the supermarket, plus a couple supermarket russets. Again a great crop.

This year I'd like to double the size of the patch, purchase real seed potatoes from a good source, and grow a nice mix of different varieties. I've read that 20 lbs of seed potatoes plants 100 feet of row (1 lb plants 5-8 feet), so I figure I should get about 12 lbs of seed.

Fedco is a company my local CSA likes and they have a nice potato section. Here's my list. Six varieties. 13.5 lbs total. (I can give a lb or two to my parents.)

Butte: medium russet skin, white flesh A favorite russet of ours for its tastiness and “just-right” mealiness. Heavy yields of attractive tubers are great baked, mashed or fried. Butte is higher in vitamin C and protein than any other variety. Medium-sized upright spreading plant has red-purple flowers with white tips. Resistant to common scab, hollow heart, and net necrosis. Also has field resistance to late blight. Released in 1977 from Idaho. Russets require wide (16–18") spacing, good fertility and regular moisture. Organic 2.5# $7.00

French Fingerling: dark rose-red skin, yellow flesh This show-stopper with glistening smooth rose-red skin and rich yellow flesh slightly splashed with pink wows us every season. Creamy taste and firm texture make it a favorite. French Fingerling produces numerous large tubers and has become important for growers and home gardeners alike. Shows some resistance to potato leafhopper. Tall spreading plant. Organic 1.0# $5.75

Cobbler: buff skin, white flesh A real old-fashioned favorite from the late 1800s. Selected from a seed ball of Early Rose, ancestor of many early cultivars, by an Irish shoemaker. Round tubers have smooth buff skin and creamy white flesh. Medium-sized plant has white-tipped lilac flowers. Resistant to black leg and fusarium storage rot. Conventional 2.5# $4.50

Dark Red Norland: dark red skin, white flesh Norland has long been the standard early red, delicious for those first tubers of the year. Excellent for boiling and good for baking. Dark Red is a selection from Norland for its brighter skin color. Matures slightly later than its parent, with consistently higher yields. Medium-to-large plants with purple flowers. Fair storage. Also available as conventional seed. Conventional 2.5# $4.50

Green Mountain: buff skin, white flesh Many consider this 1885 heirloom to be the most flavorful of all. People ask for it by name year after year. O. H. Alexander of the Green Mountains of Vermont bred it from Dunsmore (a seedling of Burbank) and Excelsior. Dry texture for outstanding baking qualities. Good appearance and great flavor don’t fade in long storage. Resistant to fusarium storage rot, black leg and verticillium wilt. Susceptible to viral diseases. Also available as conventional seed. Organic 2.5# $7.00

Red Gold: red skin, yellow flesh Red Gold continues to impress us with its delicious flavor and beautiful appearance. Grow these for that first potato, quickly steamed then tossed with butter, dill and a touch of salt. High yield of 2" tubers, easily as early as 65 days, make it a top choice for growers. Excels as a new potato for salads and baking. Does not store well. One of our best sellers. Introduced by AgCanada in 1987. Also available as conventional seed. Organic 2.5# $7.00

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

greens with potatoes and onions

I made a terrific casserole yesterday. All veggies from my garden or my recent CSA distribution: collard and beet greens, celeriac, potatoes and onions. Next time I'll make more, as this is really good the next day too.

Its a good warm dish for a freezing cold night. Its about 20°F outside now. I'm doing my best to avoid going out at all but the warmest times of the day. Bbbrrrr!

The recipe is adapted from my basic vegetable cooking resource: Marion Morash's Victory Garden Cookbook.

Greens with Potatoes and Onions:
5 Tbs butter
2 C chopped greens
salt and pepper
1 1/2 C sliced onions
Béchamel sauce (below)
2 C sliced cooked potatoes and celeriac (or potatoes only)
2/3 C grated cheese (your choice, I used cheddar and Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 370°F. Peel celeriac and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Cook celeriac and potatoes until tender - celeriac about 8 minutes, potatoes about 20 minutes. Make Béchamel sauce (below). Melt 2 Tbs butter in saute pan. Add chopped greens and saute until moisture is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. In same pan melt 2 Tbs butter and saute onions until lightly browned. Butter 9" square baking pan. Smooth some Béchamel sauce into pan and then layer on potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer onions on top, and then spoon on the remaining Béchamel. Sprinkle on half the cheese and cover with greens. Sprinkle on remaining cheese and then dot with butter. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes until heated through and lightly browned on top.

Béchamel sauce:
2 1/2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Melt butter, add flour, and whisk to remove lumps. Cook 2-3 minutes until flour is golden. Remove from pan, add milk and beat vigorously until smooth. Bring to boil and salt, simmer at least 5 min to remove four taste. (Simmering longer will improve flavor.) Season with salt and pepper.

Variations:
- Marion suggests using turnips, but I really dislike these. Use at your own risk.
- Or make recipe using leftover mashed potatoes.
- Or top with buttered breadcrumbs.
- To omit bechamel - place well buttered greens on the bottom, cover with whipped potatoes beaten with butter, milk and and egg yolk. Dot with butter and bake.
- These flavors go great together. I bet lots of variations will work well.

Skippy's vegetable recipes
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

root cellar

How to store the root harvest?

I am researching root cellars since I lost a whole bagful of big garden beets. There were too many to fit in my refrigerator and I thought these would keep in my basement - but I was wrong :(

Root crops I grow (or would like to) include beets, potatoes, carrots and parsnips. My two bags of potatoes (so far) are keeping fine in my basement. My carrot harvest did fine in the fridge. I only had two gallon bags of these and there are only a few left now. The parsnips never sprouted :( and I'll try again next year.

I will look up the optimum storage temp for these crops and if there is an inexpensive solution for storage. Please let me know if you have information on this topic!

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

weekend potato harvest

With a bit of help from my 15 year old son, I harvested a nice box full of potatoes on Saturday. I suppose if we were a bit more careful we wouldn't have pierced so many of them with the digging fork. We did our best.

I have mostly white fingerling potatoes, but also some big Russets and reds. They are delicious now - crisp new potatoes. I'll hang these in a paper bag from the rafters in the basement. I think they will last us a few months. A good harvest. Next year, I'd like to grow a few more large Russets. They are delicious.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
harvests from my vegetable gardens

summer bounty

I am so lucky this year to have such good food, free for the harvest from my gardens! These are photos of some of my harvests from the past few days. My favorites are the beets, potatoes, carrots, beans and even the overabundant squash. Just one? - my real favorite this week is probably the Chiogga beets and tender greens.

The potatoes are also one of my favorites. Tonight I had dinner guests and before the meal, we headed over to the garden and dug in the potato patch. I didn't remember what I planted where, but I ended up finding 6 or 8 very good sized Russets. We popped them in the oven and ate them with butter. Soooo good!

Cheers to August! The best month of the year.

I read last night the chapter of Micheal Pollan's "In Defense Of Food" where he says that we (in the US) need to spend more time preparing our food and enjoying eating it. I took this to heart tonight and did my best. With our baked potatoes, we ate grilled local pork tenderloin, Lutz and Chiogga beets with greens, green beans, local bread, garden salad with orange, black and pink tomatoes, and blueberry pie. It is certainly is nice to take the time to grow, harvest, prepare and enjoy a meal with your family (and a martini!).

Cucurbita pepo (squash)
Daucus carota
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
harvests from my vegetable gardens