Potatoes
In the garden, potatoes can take up a lot of space for a long period and they’re so cheap to buy, so why bother growing them? Well for a start, commercial potatoes are often grown using big doses of chemicals – something which definitely doesn’t appeal to me. By growing your own you also get to experience the superior flavour of garden harvested spuds and, best of all, you can grow unique varieties that you will never find in shops.
The potatoes I like to grow are the “gourmet” type, that’s those varieties, often with yellow flesh, that are sought after by top chefs and restaurants. Forget the familiar white fleshed, pale skinned “fast-food chip-making” spud. There is a wide choice of potatoes to grow, each with something different to offer in terms of flavour, texture and appearance, cooking quality and resistance to pest and disease.
Most of the potatoes that we grow here in Australia can be traced back to the first potato varieties introduced to Europe from South America, their native homeland, where they have been cultivated for thousands of years.
As a member of the Solanaceae family, the potato is closely related to capsicums, tomatoes, chillies and eggplant. It’s a perennial plant with hairy stems, large dark green leaves and clusters of pretty white, mauve or pink flowers. The leaves and flowers of potatoes are poisonous. So too are tubers which have turned green, as a result of exposure to light.
Health and Nutrition
Not only do they taste good, but potatoes are a wonderful source of carbohydrate, making them an excellent fuel food. They also contain vitamin C, and the B-vitamins.
Growing
I make it a rule to always use fresh certified seed potatoes to avoid disease build-up. They’re also high-yielding and easy to grow. Seed potatoes aren’t actually “seed”, but rather tubers. In fact they look just like small potatoes. Seed potatoes saved from last season or bought from the fruit shop may look healthy, but using them can lead to a build up of viruses and disease.
I sow my first seed potatoes outdoors in early spring, in a well-drained, sunny spot in rich soil that has been prepared first with rotted manure and compost. In just a few short weeks the first shoots are poking their way through the soil and by early summer you should be enjoying a bountiful harvest. In warm climates you can grow potatoes throughout the year, although most planting is done in autumn. In cooler regions, like where I live, we wait until late winter or early spring before planting to avoid young shoots being damaged by frost.
If space can be found, set the rows 60 cm to 1 metre apart, dig good deep holes and plant tubers roughly 10-15 cm deep and 35-40 cm apart with the potato eye pointing upwards. If space is limited, then plant just one or two mounds. Large seed potatoes can be cut into pieces first, but should be left to dry out before planting to prevent them rotting in the ground. There should be at least one or two “eyes” or buds on each cut piece.
Once the potatoes are growing, rake soil up around the shoots to form a mound. This prevents light from reaching the tubers and turning them green. It also helps to mulch with a thick layer of straw, which has the added benefit of conserving moisture. Green potatoes should never be eaten as they can be poisonous.
When growth is at its peak, keep the water up, particularly during flowering and immediately after when the tubers are growing. When the stems and foliage have yellowed and died off its time to harvest your potatoes. Start by harvesting well outside each plant, that way you can dig and eat your potatoes as you need them. Each tuber produces roughly another 10 potatoes, and I have found that just 3 or 4 seed potatoes give a small family plenty of potatoes.
“New” potatoes can be lifted from the time the flowers open fully. New potatoes are immature, so they’re smaller and firmer and need only be washed and boiled until just tender. They don’t store well so try to eat them quickly or dig and use them as you need to. You might even like to plant early varieties into the garden mid season, so you can harvest your new baby potatoes later.
Small Areas
Potatoes do take up a reasonable amount of space, but it’s a small price to pay for a tasty, bountiful crop. In small gardens, it’s worth finding the space to grow at least a few potatoes. City gardeners can grow them easily in a tower of old tyres or containers on the balcony. I have never grown potatoes in tyres myself, but just two pound of seed potatoes grown in a stack of four tyres can yield somewhere between 20 and 30 pounds. I have certainly had success with fast-maturing early varieties such as Nicola growing in deep pots.
Storage
Potatoes can last for months if they are stored in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. Avoid any plastic packaging, because it causes potatoes to sweat.
My Favourite Varieties
Kipfler
Kipfler is an elongated potato with yellow skin, light yellow flesh and what I would describe as a pleasant nutty flavour. It is best boiled or tossed into salads, but also makes a good roasting potato.
Nicola
Nicola has yellow skin and deep yellow flesh that has a distinctly “buttery” flavour. Excellent boiled, steamed or mashed. It is an absolute hit in our potato strudel with caraway.
King Edward
King Edward is an oval to pear-shaped potato with lovely cream and pink blushed skin. The creamy-white flesh has a firm waxy texture, making it ideal for boiling. It is also lovely baked or roasted and can be harvested mid-late season when the stems and leaves have withered.
Otway Red
Otway Red is an excellent all-purpose variety with striking red skin and pure white flesh. Serve it Roman style, seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic and roasted until golden brown. It’s also delicious mashed
Pink Eye
Pink eye does as much for the eye as the taste buds with purple skin and creamy yellow flesh. It makes a delicious mash and the ‘new’ potatoes are tasty boiled and tossed into salads.
Garden Feast by Melissa King, Allen & Unwin, RRP: $49.95
