Planting Potatoes

It has been a crazy week (my sister so kindly reminded me that it is only Wednesday). Andy had a freak accident on Monday (more on that later), and I have had to do all of my normal work, plus all of the work that Andy does with his right arm (he's left handed, thankfully!) But the gardens are looking great and now it is raining. We got our summer Swiss chard, beets, carrots and potatoes planted in the back garden just as it started raining this morning. It has been a slow and steady shower since.

I thought I would write about planting potatoes today, since they are so easy and fun to grow! We have a few varieties that we have fallen in love with. The varieties that we are growing this year are kennebeck, red Pontiac, la rotte (fingerling), durango red, red thumb, russet, all red, all blue, yellow finn, kyuka gold, and our favorite variety, rose finn apple (A small fingerling potato that is absolutely delicious and beautiful).

The first step in planting potatoes is to find good seed potatoes. You can use potatoes that you buy from the store, but we have had much better results and found much more interesting varieties from seed potato vendors. FEDCO has "Moose Tubers" which you can find online, but the deadline to order has passed. We buy our potatoes from a local farmer and friend, he has great varieties and we like supporting him. He does have some potatoes left so if you are interested, let me know and I will get you in contact with him.

Cut the seed potatoes if they have a lot of eyes (probably more than 6). Cut into pieces that have more than 2 eyes each.

Plant the potatoes 3-4 inches deep with the eyes facing up, 1-2 feet apart in furrows at least 2 feet apart. As the season goes on we make sure to keep the weeds down, and hill the soil around the potato plants as they grow. Potato plants are gorgeous, I think. The leaves are dark green, blue or purple, and the flowers are white or purple with bright yellow centers.

Here's a yummy potato recipe that includes kale, a green that grows in abundance this time of year, and is extremely healthy! They are potato pancakes, great served with eggs and a veggie side dish. I apologize to my vegan friends, I really need to find recipes for you too!!

Cheesy Bubble and Squeek

3 Cups mashed potatoes

8 oz. shredded kale, steamed

1 egg, scrambled

1/2 C Cheddar cheese grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the potatoes and kale, egg, cheese and spices. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape into thick patties. Cool in the refrigerator for about and hour. Toss the patties in flour. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan until hot. Slide the patties into the oil and fry on each side for about 3 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Andy is healing well after his freak accident. He was walking through the garden on a blustery day when he turned around to see a piece of steel roofing boomeranging through the air at his face. He blocked it with his arm, but it still got his nose, just a half an inch away from his eye. It was incredibly unlucky that he was right there at that moment, but it could have been so much worse then it was. Here are a few pictures of his progress. His handsome face is slowly returning to its normal size. A tech at the hospital said that this was the worst broken nose she has ever seen! Poor Andy. He's such a trooper, he hasn't even taken a day off. To all of you who have offered your support, thank you so much!! Where would we be without our wonderful friends and family?

Thanks for reading!!