one potato two potatoes three potatoes, more (Potatoes)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Potatoes
Date:	18/10/02 (3417 review reads)
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Advantages: cheap, tasty, easy, versatile

Disadvantages: ?

Potatoes Solarium tuberosa
Where oh where to begin.

At the beginning Potatoes were introduced to Europe from south America The Spanish explorers of 1500 went to south America looting for gold and treasure, they took back potatoes for food for their Inca slaves who worked in the Spanish silver mines in Bolivia.
Drake encountered potatoes on an island off the coast of chille 1577,1580.

A John Hawkins 1532-1595 an English sea captain partly responsible for the defeat of the Spanish Amarda 1588 is credited with being responsible for the potatoes introduction to England.


What is a potato?
Potatoes are a tender perennial that grow to about 60cm 2 foot tall with the same spread.
Under ground tubers develop typically growing to about 3inches/7cm long and swelling to 1 ½ inches/4cm wide on average. These have a white, pinkish red skin depending on variety, and have a white flesh. These tubers (potatoes) are a part of many peoples daily diet. Potatoes have a small flower white or pink these develop a small green tomato like fruit that is poisonous to eat.

Potatoes are the family solanaceae, tomatoes, sweet peppers, chilli peppers hot peppers Aubergine, deadly nightshade, and bittersweet are members of the same family.
There are over a hundred varieties of cultivars potato so I will not attempt to name them all. King Edward, Marris piper, Desiree, Wilja are a few.
There are groups that grow best at different seasons early, second early, main crop.

Potatoes are easy to grow,

It is best to grow from a seed potato bought from garden centre or seed merchant; it is possible to grow from old potatoes bought for cooking. I have planted the odd one that has gone green or sprouted in my bag.

Chit, or sprout your potato before planting to help quick growth to do this place potatoes in a tray /box in late winter early spring in a light warm place out of direct sunlight when they are
starting to shoot, move to a cooler (not frosty) place for a few weeks and plant outside mid march to may if you want a few very earlies grow in the conservatory/ greenhouse February.

Outside plant potatoes into trenches or individual holes 7-15 cm/3-6 inches deep cover with at least 3cm /1inch of soil. Grow 11-18 inches/38-45cm apart with 65-75cm/26-30 inches apart
Protect your earlies against frost cover foliage with straw/ newspaper or fleece if frosty
Earth up as they grow build up the soil over the potato leaving a small amount of foliage showing. Stops potatoes going green, weeds growing, and blight.
Keep the soil moist. Start harvesting earlies June July when they are just beginning to flower.

Well I only grow a few for early potatoes I grow them organically Potatoes are cheap and readily available to buy and take up quite a bit of space in a veg plot.


Well having grown (bought) your potatoes what do you do with them? They do not really take long to prepare and cook. The list is endless, Chips, mash boiled baked, salad, roast potato and spinach curry, cheese and potato pie potato soup, potato omelette, the list is endless.


Here is a recipe for a potato dish I am sure you have many more recipe?s


Hot potato and parsley salad

Cook 1 lb potatoes in their skin
Melt 2 oz/50g butter in a frying pan, add a chopped bunch of spring onions slowly heat do not brown add the potatoes some salt and ground black pepper. Shake the pan to coat the potatoes in butter and onions. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley to garnish. This serves about 5or 6 people.


Enjoy growing cooking and eating potatoes thanks for reading. Mary

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