Guy Crittenden is middle aged, and he's losing friends and loved ones to all kinds of disease. He knows death is part of life, but he's concerned that cancer causing compounds could be speeding up the process.
Crittenden says he's frustrated that toxic compounds are allowed in food and are difficult to avoid. He posted a web blog, Seven food items that should never pass your lips. In addition to canned tomatoes, corn-fed beef, microwave popcorn, farmed salmon, milk produced with artificial hormones and apples grown with pesticides, his list includes nonorganic potatoes.
Some potato growers won't eat what they send to market
Jeffrey Moyer is farm director of the Rodale Institute. He says many farmers won't eat the 'spuds' they sell to grocery distributors. In order to mass produce the country's most popular root crop, farmers are practically cornered into growing specific kinds of potatoes and following related guidelines. "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell,: Moyer says. “They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."
Buying organic potatoes is a good solution, but growing them is better from a reliability standpoint, and it's usually cheaper.
Growing Potatoes Enables Potato Lovers to Experiment with Heritage Varieties
In his book Grow Vegetables, Alan Buckingham says potatoes that naturally occurred in days gone by are sometimes sold as 'microplants', which are potted seedlings. In their first year they only produce a few tubers. Some can be eaten,but others should be stored away for spring planting.
There are many kinds of potatoes that have been harvested for hundreds of years, but not too long ago were at risk of being lost. Hobbyists and independant gardeners have kept many kinds going, and as a result, interest is once again being shown in them. Buckingham says his favourite heirloom cultivars are Champion, Highland Burgundy Red, Kepplestone Kidney, Mr. Little's Ytholm Gypsy, Salad Blue and Witch Hill.
Buckingham says King Edward and Wilja end up quite fluffy and so are ideal for baking and roasting. His favourite salad potatoes are International Kidney, Roseval, Charlotte, Belle de Fontenay and the knobby Pink Fir Apple.
Mound Potatoes for Best Results
Plant seed potatoes or 'chitts' (potatoes started indoors) when no further heavy frost is expected. They should be covered if there is a danger of frost once planted. The soil should be rich and well-drained and slightly acidic. Move the potato crop every year to make it hard for pests to set up shop, and because potatoes use a lot of nutrients out of the soil. A crop of clover growing over manure for a season will make an excellent bed for next year's potato crop. (Clover fixes/frees up nitrogen from the manure in the soil). When the plants are about 9” in height, cover them halfway with more rich soil. This will encourage the development of more tubers and will also prevent exposed potatoes from turning green (which makes the potato inedible).
When flower's appear, the tubers are likely ready for harvest. Cut the stems as they die about 2 inches above the ground. Use a pitch fork to dig them up as it will cause the least damage while unearthing the most potatoes. Once harvested, use up any that have been damaged and store the rest in a closed paper bag in a cool, dark place. The flavour and the comfort derived from independently producing safer food is satisfying and worth the work.
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