The Madman’s Love Affair With Potatoes
The madman is breathing easier these days. He’s midway into the potato harvest, and he’s liking what he’s seeing. Although potatoes are easy to grow, the madman frets over them all summer – “they are underground,” he says. “And, I can’t see what’s going on.
In his potato growing history, he has found some surprises. Stunted potatoes. Sometimes no potatoes. Sometimes beautiful potatoes with bite marks. And, sometimes halves of potatoes. For an easy crop, they can be frustrating. And, just when he thinks he has solved the potato growing mystery, scab shows up. If he didn’t love potatoes so much, he just might skip them altogether.
Culture of Potatoes
But, remember, he was raised as a good Polish boy. In his family’s culture, potatoes were a staple. Just ask cousin Dolores – she’ll tell you every supper consisted of meat and potatoes with an afterthought of vegetables thrown in. Except for Fridays – that was the day for square fish and mashed potatoes in case a bone got stuck in your throat.
Despite his history with the potato, we never thought to include them in our early gardens. Then, one spring day, Mr. Zebrowski, our Polish neighbor, came over with a bucketful of extra seed potatoes. “Here, dig a trench and plant them.” No other instructions were given. Mr. Zebrowski had no need for words with the madman. Luckily, I knew that you had to hill them as they grow. So, we fumbled through that first crop. He harvested beautiful potatoes and was hooked. Especially when he realized it didn’t take much effort at all.
On His Own
The next year, he got his own seed potatoes at a local garden center where he just picked them out of a bin. Another great crop. This went on for a while, until he discovered that by the end of the winter we had a surplus of potatoes. A patient told him to skip the seed potatoes and plant the surplus. After the second year of doing this, a new friend showed up on the plants – the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata).
Let me tell you about this beetle. It is the ugliest, most disgusting insect I have ever encountered. We first met up with him during a garden stroll. The madman noticed chewed up potato leaves and looked closer, he saw a big orange blob with black spots looking back at him. We rushed in to consult our gardening books (no GOOGLE then) and found a picture matching our discovery – a larval stage of the Colorado potato beetle.
The Madman’s Nemesis
The CPB hails from Central Mexico. Its major source of food was a plant called Buffalo Bur (Solanum rostratum), a distant cousin of the potato (Solanum tuberosum). It followed trade routes north and was discovered by entomologists in the 1860’s in the Colorado territory. At the same time, the beetle made the jump from Buffalo Bur to Potato. Once the bug found it liked Potatoes better than Buffalo Bur, the move eastward was just a matter of time. Now, it pretty much appears in every state. In our garden, we have learned to control the CPB through Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Incidentally the madman has found that the little buggers actually prefer the Eggplant so he uses them as effective trap plants.
Lower Yields
About the time he discovered the CPB, the madman also noticed that his potato yields were declining. He casually mentioned this to a retired farmer, the late Weston Hart, who asked where he got his seed potatoes. In no uncertain terms, Mr. Hart told the madman that he shouldn’t plant his old potatoes. Instead he should use certified seed potatoes from a reliable source. By using certified seed potatoes, we can reduce the risk of disease. Some potatoes in the grocery store come from foreign fields where disease control is an unknown. The madman now gets his seed potatoes from Pinetree Gardens and Fedco, both in Maine. He’s much happier with the results. Doesn’t stop him from worrying, but he is happier.
The madman always thought that the potato started in Poland and worked its way across Europe, eventually making its way to Ireland where it was a staple. But, the history of the potato is much different. In fact, the potato hails from the slopes of the Andes Mountains in South America. Around 7,000 years ago, the Incas began to cultivate the wild Solanum and had a booming potato industry when the Spaniards showed up in the 1500’s.
Potato Moves To Europe
By the end of the 16th Century, the potato found its way to Europe where it was given a lukewarm reception. Monarchs and rulers realized the potential of the potato to feed the masses. But, everyone else viewed the potato with suspicion. In an effort to give the potato a degree of acceptance, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were said to wear potato flowers in their buttonholes and hairstyles. The madman says he won’t lose his head over that fashion statement.
In time, the potato was accepted and brought to America by the European settlers. It is now a food staple worldwide. The Incas must be proud. But, today’s potato bears little resemblance to the ancient tuber grown by the Incas. This year, thanks to the pandemic and its resultant Victory Gardens, the madman had trouble getting his old standby varieties. Luckily for him, there are over 4,000 types of potatoes thanks to plant breeders. So, the madman easily found good varieties for his garden.
Planting Time
By late April he and his seed potatoes were ready to go. When they arrived, he cut each potato into pieces with at least three eyes and set them in a dark spot to cure for a couple of weeks. The rodent-control garlic he planted on the north side of the potato bed in early November 2020 was looking good. His soil test results from UConn were back and he had lowered the pH as directed to reduce the risk of scab.
He dug a 4” deep trench through the center of the bed and lightly fertilized with an organic 10-10-10 granular fertilizer. With rain in the forecast, he carefully placed the seed potatoes in the trench 12” apart and replaced the soil. Along the south side of the bed, the madman planted his second row of rodent deterrent, this time a row of onions. He then watered the bed good. When he was finished, he said to them, “See you all at the end of July – go forth and multiply.”
But he really didn’t plan to ignore them all summer. Every day, he scouted the bed for his friend the Colorado potato beetle. Much to his delight, we found very few CPB’s and most of those we found were on the Eggplant. We squished what we found, eliminating the need for any further control.
Have To Keep Them Hilled
As we said earlier, potatoes need to be hilled. The potato tubers form above the seed potatoes and, as you all know, potato skins exposed to light will turn green. This green can signal the production of chlorophyll, but light can also trigger the production of solanine, a chemical toxic to humans. The hilling blocks the light. But, with garlic on one side and onions on the other, the madman can’t hill this bed. Instead, he mulches with ground up leaves. The Alliums hold the mulch in place.
In addition to the main potato bed, the madman has been experimenting with potato grow bags, readily available through growers and garden centers. Regular garden soil is too heavy for anything growing in containers, so he uses compost, the weight of which anchors the bags. Again, he uses chopped up leaves for hilling as the potatoes grow. Normally he reserves the bags for his fingerling crop, but I noticed this year he planted full-size potatoes in a couple. I suspect that he ordered too many seed potatoes.
Second Planting Is In
In our last post, we talked about the madman’s second planting of a variety of vegetables, including potatoes. Back then, the seed potatoes were in brown paper bags sprouting eyes while the madman waited to harvest the onions. Since then, he harvested the onions and planted these potatoes . And the waiting game starts again as he watches for the signs of the first leaves poking through the soil.
While he waits for the first signs of sprouts, the madman finds it difficult to believe that the potato was once viewed with suspicion and vilified. But, I remind him that’s how he used to look upon okra, but that’s a story for another time.
Now it’s time for lemonade.
