Remember playing hot potato as a kid? Well potatoes are what's hot right now. Fingerling potatoes in particular are what all the cool people are growing and eating. And the time to plant is now!
I roasted my fingerling potatoes in a little extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, rosemary and thyme in the oven for two hours at 350 degrees. They came out perfectly golden brown and crisp to perfection. I sliced them in half to make them even more like chips and to give them that crunch.
Potatoes just make the best appetizers, don't they? Isadora or Izzy from She Likes Food used red potatoes to make Roasted Potato Cups With Loaded Guacamole. And you won't even believe how she used a melon baller on her spuds! Then you say to yourself....Why didn't I think of this?
And since grilling season is officially here with the Memorial Day kickoff, Briana, or Bri from Bites of Bri made these mouth-watering Garlic Bistro Fries out of russet potatoes. Who could settle for fast food fries after this? And these are baked, not fried my friends!
And since grilling season is officially here with the Memorial Day kickoff, Briana, or Bri from Bites of Bri made these mouth-watering Garlic Bistro Fries out of russet potatoes. Who could settle for fast food fries after this? And these are baked, not fried my friends!
And as much as I love my russets and reds; I also hear Russian blue & purple potatoes are pretty hot right now. What's your favorite spud and how do you prepare them?
Potato Planting How-To
- Anyhow, plant seed potatoes (pieces of a whole potato) or a small whole potato with two eyes per piece 0-2 weeks after last frost. So yes, you are re-planting an actual part of the potato.
- Use only certified seed potatoes as grocery-store potatoes can harbor diseases that may ruin your entire crop. You can order certified seed potatoes from a catalog or buy them at a local nursery or garden center.
- Dust the seed potatoes with agricultural sulfur by putting a handful of sulfur in a paper bag, adding the potatoes and shaking them around. This protects against fungal diseases and other pests.
- An "eye" is a bud that grows into a brand new plant.
- If you are using cut up pieces of a potato to plant to plant do so 1 or 2 days ahead of time. This will give them a chance to form a protective layer, both for moisture retention & rot resistance. Using a whole small potato is probably best.
- Plant potato parts in organic compost in the bottom of a trench.
- Plant seed potatoes one foot apart in a 4-inch trench with the eye side up.
- Potatoes like well-drained, loose soil. They also like a cool climate, and need to be watched to prevent sunburn.
- Need Lots of moisture, water regularly when tubers start to form.
- When the plant is about 6 inches tall you'll want to "hill" them. You need to hill before the potato plants bloom.
On average, 1 pound of seed potatoes should yield about 10 pounds of potatoes.
I'm not planting potatoes this year. Space issues. And I know a great roadside stand that sells them cheap. But you can bet I'll be eating potatoes.
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