Spuds in the kitchen
KP in the Army and in summer camp involves peeling potatoes – even for the family dinner. The choice of potato this Sunday was the gold, possibly Yukon Gold, potato. Unfortunately, as I peeled, I had to take a deep slice from around most of each potato. The reason was the green skin.
My composter will appreciate this, but economically, it was a huge waste to have to cut so much away. When I grew potatoes, I learned not to allow them to poke out of the ground into the light. They were to stay covered to prevent green skin that creates a poisonous alkaloid.
For the first time, I am growing potatoes at home in Florida. I had six potatoes start to sprout in the pantry, so I decided I’d plant them in a hole, reserving the soil to the side. Two days later I found that some night creature had dug them up. They were scattered all around the garden and even to the side of the house where I found them in a few weeks after they had sprouted. If they survive, the potatoes certainly will not win any prizes, as the varmint didn’t put them in a hole and cover them.
Now the challenge is to keep them growing, well covered and moist. When I gardened in New Jersey, I used hay that was unusable for horses or cattle at a cost of $1 a bale to layer over the potatoes as they grew. Here, I’m planning on pulling soil and mulched leaves gradually up over the leaves. This keeps the tubers buried. The potato plants will have a hill around them.
The “normal” way of planting potatoes is to use healthy seed potatoes and place the cut pieces with an eye about a foot apart in a trench 6-inches deep. Fertilize the soil with a 10-0-10 one foot deep.
Keep an eye out for the larvae of the potato beetle. I hand pick them, but that’s not for the squeamish.
The flowers on the potato plant are small but attractive, and flowers are a sign that the growth effort of the potato has reached its apex. The next step in potato growing is that the vine is going to lose its vigorous stance, flop and turn brown, which is the time to carefully use a fork and dig under the hill and remove the tubers.
When potatoes have been grown in hay, one can steal the young potatoes to boil and serve with butter and parsley. In the market, they’re expensive and called new potatoes.
Potatoes have many good vitamins and taste great when served with herbs, such as basil, chives, dill, fennel, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. Notice the butter and sour cream are not suggested. That’s when the calorie count rises.
Remember when preparing potatoes to cut off the green skin. The grocery stores need to be made aware that even fluorescent lights can cause the greening problem. The mashed potatoes were yummy.
Events for garden enthusiasts:
• Clearwater Garden Club will have a white elephant and plant sale on Saturday, April 22, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members will also have a table of baked goods, jellies, chutney, vinegar and more for sale. The Garden Club will also meet on Friday, April 28, 10 a.m. The topic by a member of the Native Plant Society will be adding natives to the garden. In addition, there will be a grow and share program. Refreshments will be served. Both events take place at 405 Seminole St. Call 441-2719.
• Pinellas Rose Society will meet on Sunday, April 23, 4 to 6 p.m., at 1390 Sunray Drive, Palm Harbor. Attendees will tour the garden of the society’s president with 275 rose bushes. There will be a raffle. Refreshments will be provided. Eddie James, guitarist and vocalist will entertain. Call 784-1284.
• Ikebana International, Chapter 65, will host a luncheon and demonstration on Monday, April 24, 10:30 a.m., at the Radisson Hotel, 12600 Roosevelt Blvd., St. Petersburg. Ronell Douglass, president of the North American Ohara Teachers Association will be the presenter. The cost is $45 for nonmembers. Call Pat Johnson at 397-9140.
• St. Petersburg will celebrate Arbor Day and Earth Day at its 20th Green Thumb Festival on the weekend of April 29 and 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Walter Fuller Park, 7891 26th Ave. N. Featured will be environmental and horticultural exhibits, vendors, the Garden Club of St. Petersburg Flower Show, a grow and share program, a diagnostic clinic (bring soil and water samples), a recycling rally, free mulch, plant auction, more than 2,000 trees for sale for $3, free butterfly plants (500 each day), tool sharpening booth, entertainment, children’s programs, other environmental programs and exhibits and a food court.
• The Garden Club of St. Petersburg will sponsor Phil Stager who will discuss crotons at 11 a.m. and Jane Aurman who will describe Landscape Design Artistry on Saturday and Sunday in the Community Center in the Green Thumb Festival at Walter Fuller Park.
