Re: [gardeners] my veggie garden
Margaret Lauterbach (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Tue, 14 Jul 1998 13:55:54 -0600
At 11:03 AM 7/14/98 -0500, you wrote:
>All right Margaret. Nothing in the potato world will taste as good as
those you
>grow yourself. The flavor is so much better than potatos that have been in
>storage for who knows how long. Plus you won't have to eat the chemicals they
>spray on them to keep storage potatos from sprouting or rotting.
> Where generally are you gardening? I would like to plant the gold variety
>myself. Don't know if it would do well in SE Central Texas. I have to
plant my
>potatos in Jan for spring harvest, for fall I have to plant by Aug 15th.
> Allen
> Bastrop Co.,Tx
> Zone 8/sizzling
I'm gardening in southwestern Idaho, and no, it's not "aha!" Potatoes
grown in this valley are not looked on with favor by large purchasers (such
as Simplot, for McDonald's french fries) because they contain too much
sugar. Some farmers do grow taters here though. Most grow sugar beets,
corn and wheat for diversification, but mint is a very popular crop here.
Our valley also is renowned (among a few people) for growing seeds. I
think this valley is responsible for about 80% of the sweet corn seeds
grown in the U.S. It's a bit startling to realize, at times, that that
field I'm puzzling over is a field of carrots gone to seed. Or onions.
We used to be able to buy a 50 lb. sack of field-run russets from the Boy
Scouts for $5. But they quit doing that, and it'll cost more. Even so, I
prefer other taters than plain russets. Hence the Yukon Gold. Looks like
it was already buttered. Good baked, steamed or pressure cooked. A leetle
margarine and a lot of parsley. Yummers.
The Red Pontiacs are the awesome producers. Last year I harvested 35 lbs
of Red Pontiacs from a 6-foot row. Two of them weighed about 2 lbs. each.
Yukon gold is an early potato, and that's part of its charm. Say 4 months
from plant to harvest. You'll be better off with a local seed potato
supplier than with mail order, though. Do NOT plant supermarket taters.
Odds are high they've been sprayed with anti-sprouting chemicals, and they
won't even come up above soil line. Margaret