Vegetable Gardening (36 page)

Potatoes: No Longer a Boring Spud

If I had to vote on the most underrated vegetable in the world, I would choose the potato (
Solanum tuberosum
). Potatoes have a reputation for being common, widely available, inexpensive, and just plain brown and boring. Why bother growing them? Well, first of all, the flavor and texture of fresh potatoes dug from the soil is much better than the bagged spuds that sit on grocery-store shelves for weeks. It's also fun to grow the many different varieties, including novelty potatoes such as purple-, red-, or yellow-fleshed varieties. You'll surely astound your family and dinner guests with these not-so-plain potatoes.

Potatoes are one of the most foolproof crops to grow. Start planting early, while the weather is still cool, by placing a piece of the tuber (called a
seed potato
) in a furrow, or trench. After the potatoes start growing, if you
hill
them (push soil around the plants), water them, and keep the bugs away, you're almost guaranteed some great tubers. I explain more about planting potatoes and provide tips on growing sweet potatoes, a special kind of root crop, later in this chapter.

Potatoes classified

Potato varieties usually are classified as early-, mid-, and late-season from the time you plant the seed potato to harvest. If you have a short growing season, grow early-season plants. If you have a longer growing season, you'll be safe with the late-season plants. If you want to have a constant supply of potatoes all summer, grow a few of each. Table 6-2 shows the approximate number of days to maturity for each category.

Selecting a few potato varieties

So many potato varieties are available that narrowing the field is often difficult. However, you may want to try some of my favorites, which I describe in the following list. I've included some fingerling varieties that are the latest rage; they produce an abundance of small, fingerlike tubers that are great roasted, fried, or steamed. Here are my favorite potato varieties in terms of flavor, color, and ease of growing:

‘All Blue':
This mid- to late-season spud has blue skin and flesh. It has a mealy texture, so it's best as a mashed potato. Yes, blue mashed potatoes! You also can grow a similar ‘All Red' (also known as ‘Cranberry Red') variety that has red skin on the outside and pink flesh on the inside. Combined with ‘All Blue' potatoes and a white variety, you can create a red, white, and blue mashed potato extravaganza!

‘Butte':
This late-season variety is the classic Idaho baking potato. It's a great
russetted
(has rough, brown-colored skin) baking variety that features 20 percent more protein and 58 percent more vitamin C than other varieties. It's also tolerant of scab disease and late blight. (See the later section "Keeping Your Root Crops Healthy and Pest-Free" for more on these problems.)

‘Caribe':
This early, lavender-skinned, white-fleshed variety produces large tubers. A great masher.

‘Kennebec':
This all-purpose midseason variety with white skin and flesh is dependable, resists disease, and is good for almost any use.

‘King Harry':
This early-season, gold-skinned and white-fleshed variety is unique for its hairy leaves that reportedly ward off insects, such as Colorado potato beetles, leafhoppers, and flea beetles (see Chapter 17). Oh, and the spuds taste great, too!

‘Red Norland':
This early variety has red skin and white flesh. Harvested early when plants are just flowering, this variety is commonly sold in markets as a new red potato. It tastes best boiled or mashed.

‘
Rose Finn Apple':
This late-maturing fingerling variety features rose-colored skin and yellow flesh. It has a firm, moist texture and is great baked or boiled.

‘Russian Banana':
This late-season, fingerling-type variety has a banana shape with a waxy yellow skin and flesh. You'll find it great for roasting and boiling.