March 8th Update!
Solid growth and the plants are nearly ready for more soil to be added.
The Humble Potato (March 1st)
It's not a fabulous sight to behold, but the potato is a self-sufficiency-expert's first love. Why? What's so great about the ugly things?
For one, they last a LONG time.
I'm not just talking the time it takes for them to be purchased from your local store, sit in a bag for a month, and resemble the picture above.
I am talking about the time from when they are fresh from the ground, stored properly, and then eaten mid-winter.
If you lager your potatoes, meaning keeping them at 45-55 degrees in a dry, dark place, they can last three+ months.
At some point, they may begin chitting, which is what has happened above.
Second, they are PROLIFIC producers.
How many potatoes can one, chitting potato produce?
Well, it varies. But you can expect your lonely potato to produce 6-9 more potatoes after the plant has been exhausted.
Third, potatoes are tasty and a good source of vitamins.
Not many people think about healthy food when they eye a potato.
How about 70% of your daily intake of vitamin C?
In these long weeks of winter, I can help but plant these "advanced" potatoes to see what happens.
I'm not just talking the time it takes for them to be purchased from your local store, sit in a bag for a month, and resemble the picture above.
I am talking about the time from when they are fresh from the ground, stored properly, and then eaten mid-winter.
If you lager your potatoes, meaning keeping them at 45-55 degrees in a dry, dark place, they can last three+ months.
At some point, they may begin chitting, which is what has happened above.
Second, they are PROLIFIC producers.
How many potatoes can one, chitting potato produce?
Well, it varies. But you can expect your lonely potato to produce 6-9 more potatoes after the plant has been exhausted.
Third, potatoes are tasty and a good source of vitamins.
Not many people think about healthy food when they eye a potato.
How about 70% of your daily intake of vitamin C?
In these long weeks of winter, I can help but plant these "advanced" potatoes to see what happens.
Potatoes are a plant that are more productive, if you bury them in dirt as the plant matures. I've started with about 5 inches of dirt. I'll keep updating.
These potatoes were put in the pot on Feb 22nd.
These potatoes were put in the pot on Feb 22nd.
By March 1st, they were sprouting. The overgrown "eyes" that most people cut out, or use as an indicator for tossing a potato, will soon grow into stalks of leaves and begin generating potatoes anew.