Wife and I decided to try growing potatoes this year. Mostly because we bought some Blue Adirondack potatoes from a farmer's market while on vacation last year and really liked them.
Went out to water them today, beyond what we usually do with a soaker hose on a timer, and my hose washed away maybe a quarter inch of soil to reveal potatoes everywhere. So, I pulled one out for giggles:
Exterior:
Cut Open:
I ate some of it raw tonight and it doesn't taste any different than a russet potato. I know they contain higher sugar content than other colors, but perhaps that isn't noticeable until you've roasted them or done something involving putting heat to them. Not sure. I'll fully admit that I might think these things taste awesome because the first and only time we ate them it was 100' from Lake Superior, on vacation, roasted them and some brats over a fire, and had some delicious sweet & sour kraut side to go with it. We were happy, kids were happy, and they thought it was fun eating a purple potato.
Regardless, they are higher in antioxidants, which is good for you. And it's easy to get kids to try them. Mine ate some raw tonight.
It's not economical to grow your own potatoes, but it is dead nuts simple. My wife purchased a 3' wide steel fire pit ring, stuck it near the garden, put some compost (Wholly Cow brand) in there, stuck the seed potatoes in, rolled some of the soaker hose fromt he garden into it and let it go. Whenever the plants got large enough we stuck more compost in until we filled the 1' tall ring up. Potatoes, like tomatoes, will set roots when their stems touch soil. And since we eat the root part of the potato plant that's how you increase yield: keep piling up soil (or straw) against the plant as it grows.
Based upon what I saw today I wouldn't be surprised if we have 15 pounds of potatoes in that little 3' ring.
