Taters are quite good for you. They’re very high in Potassium, whch is good for your blood pressure and nerve health. Most Americans are deficient.
They got a bad rap because of all the stuff people heap on them.
Last I heard, potatoes also are the highest yield crop there is. But they can be tough on the soil.
All 2,000 types of potatos are native to peru. They created a human population explosion when the Spanish took them back to Europe.
The Irish wouldn't have had such a potato famine if they hadn't invested all in only one potato type.
There are other potatoes in Peru that are resistant to the disease that clobbered the Irish potato crop.
“Last I heard, potatoes also are the highest yield crop there is. But they can be tough on the soil.”
Did you know that Wisconsin is only second behind Idaho in ‘tater production? Yes, that’s the truth. They like sandy soil, which we have in spades north of here thanks to the glaciers that passed through centuries ago. (Thank Global Warming *SMIRK* as we came out of the Little Ice Age, and still are today!)
Anyhow, we grow lots of ‘taters, carrots and onions in my state. All like sandy soil, which is already depleted anyway, so I’ll ask B4Ranch to clarify, as he knows EVERYTHING Ag. ;)
I grow my ‘taters in stacks of old tires. Sounds weird, but since I have clay-ish soil (I live across from a lake) it’s too heavy to grow root crops without tons of manure and sand, so I grow them this way:
Stack an old tire on the ground. Fill with soil and compost. Fill with seed taters’ eight to ten will do. Water and let them grow. When they’re about a foot tall, add another tire. Throw in more dirt and compost. Let them grow another foot. Add another tire. Continue until you have 5-6 tires stacked up. Those tater plants will sprout new taters all along the stem where they’re covered in dirt.
When it’s time to harvest, call to the kids, “It’s Tater Tippin’ Day,” and let them push over the stacked rings of tires and harvest the taters for you.
Granted, the ones on top will be smaller, but you can use them to steam or in Tater Salad. The larger ones will be at the bottom and you can cure them and store them to feed the kids during the winter months along with other root veggies and of course pumpkins and other winter squash. :)
Now that I think about it, I’ll bet I could grow a State Fair Blue Ribbon winning Leek this way! Two inches of “green” on top just to keep it alive and the rest of it all white! :)