potatoes

Discussion in 'Turf and Surf Hunting and Fishing' started by groovy mike, Apr 17, 2008.


  1. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    Ok its not surf or turf, but it is FOOD, so I thought this might be the best forum (?).

    In my climate and soil potatoes are far easier to grow than wheat or rice. I doubled my crop last year and plan to double it again this year. If you don't have them in your [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]garden[/FONT][/FONT], you might want to add them this year. They are one of the easiest crops to save your own seed for too.....


    From Reuters Tuesday:

    >

    As other staples soar, potatoes break new ground
    Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:01am EDT



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    By Terry Wade

    LIMA (Reuters) - As wheat and rice prices surge, the humble potato -- long derided as a boring tuber prone to making you fat -- is being rediscovered as a nutritious crop that could cheaply feed an increasingly hungry world.

    Potatoes, which are native to Peru, can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice.

    "The shocks to the food supply are very real and that means we could potentially be moving into a reality where there is not enough food to feed the world," said Pamela Anderson, director of the International Potato Center in Lima (CIP), a non-profit scientific group researching the potato family to promote food security.

    Like others, she says the potato is part of the solution.

    The potato has potential as an antidote to hunger caused by higher food prices, a population that is growing by one billion people each decade, climbing costs for [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]fertilizer[/FONT][/FONT] and diesel, and more cropland being sown for biofuel production.

    To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure".

    Governments are also turning to the tuber. Peru's leaders, frustrated by a doubling of wheat prices in the past year, have started a program encouraging bakers to use potato flour to make bread. Potato bread is being given to school children, prisoners and the military, in the hope the trend will catch on.

    Supporters say it tastes just as good as wheat bread, but not enough mills are set up to make potato flour.

    "We have to change people's [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]eating [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]habits[/FONT][/FONT]," said Ismael Benavides, Peru's agriculture minister. "People got addicted to wheat when it was cheap."

    Even though the potato emerged in Peru 8,000 years ago near Lake Titicaca, Peruvians eat fewer potatoes than people in Europe: Belarus leads the world in potato consumption, with each inhabitant of the eastern European state devouring an average of 376 pounds (171 kg) a year.

    India has told food experts it wants to double potato production in the next five to 10 years. China, a huge rice consumer that historically has suffered devastating famines, has become the world's top potato grower. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the potato is expanding more than any other crop right now.

    Some consumers are switching to potatoes. In the Baltic country of Latvia, sharp price rises caused bread sales to drop by 10-15 percent in January and February, as consumers bought 20 percent more potatoes, food producers have said.

    The developing world is where most new potato crops are being planted, and as consumption rises poor [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]farmers[/FONT][/FONT] have a chance to earn more money.

    "The countries themselves are looking at the potato as a good option for both food security and also [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]income[/FONT][/FONT] generation," Anderson said.

    AFFORDABLE RAINBOW OF COLORS

    The potato is already the world's third most-important food crop after wheat and rice. Corn, which is widely planted, is mainly used for animal feed.

    Though most Americans associate potatoes with the bland Idaho variety, they actually come in some 5,000 types. Peru is sending thousands of seeds this year to the Doomsday Vault near the Arctic Circle, contributing to a gene bank for food crops that was set up in case of a global disaster.

    With colors ranging from alabaster-white to bright yellow and deep purple and countless shapes, textures, and sizes, potatoes offer inventive chefs a chance to create new, eye-catching plates.

    "They taste great," said Juan Carlos Mescco, 17, a potato farmer in Peru's Andes who says he frequently eats them sliced, boiled, or mashed from breakfast through dinner.

    Potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, which release their energy slowly, and -- so long as they are not smothered with butter -- have only five percent of the fat content of wheat.

    They also have one-fourth of the calories of bread and, when boiled, have more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium, according to the Potato Center. They contain [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]vitamin [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]C[/FONT][/FONT], iron, potassium and zinc.

    SPECULATORS AREN'T TEMPTED

    One factor helping the potato remain affordable is the fact that unlike wheat, it is not a global commodity, so has not attracted speculative professional [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]investment[/FONT][/FONT].

    Each year, farmers around the globe produce about 600 million metric tonnes of wheat, and about 17 percent of that flows into foreign trade.

    Wheat production is almost double that of potato output. Analysts estimate less than 5 percent of potatoes are traded internationally, and prices are mainly driven by local tastes, instead of international demand.

    Raw potatoes are heavy and can rot in transit, so global [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]trade [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]in[/FONT][/FONT] them has been slow to take off. They are also susceptible to infection with pathogens, hampering export to avoid spreading plant diseases.

    The downside to that is that prices in some countries aren't attractive enough to persuade farmers to grow them. People in Peruvian markets say the government needs to help lift demand.

    "Prices are low. It doesn't pay to work with potatoes," said Juana Villavicencio, who spent 15 years planting potatoes and now sells them for pennies a kilo in a market in Cusco, in Peru's southern Andes.

    But [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]science[/FONT][/FONT] is moving fast. Genetically modified potatoes that resist "late blight" are being developed by German chemicals group BASF. The disease led to famine in Ireland during the 19th century and still causes about 20 percent of potato harvest losses in the world, the company says.

    Scientists say farmers who use clean, [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]virus[/FONT][/FONT]-free seeds can boost yields by 30 percent and be cleared for export.

    That would generate more income for farmers and encourage more production as companies could sell specialty potatoes abroad, instead of just as frozen french fries or potato chips.
     
  2. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    More tater thoughts:

    I grew up with potatoes from our gardens in almost every meal. We had pasta or rice maybe once a week because they had to be bought with hard earned cash.
    I am certainly not going to grow rice or wheat for home consumption. Even corn is dubious on a large scale. But a fairly small patch of ground will produce 50 pounds of potatoes. It would take a long time for us to eat 50 lbs of potatoes because we eat a lot of rice and pasta. But I think we will be eating more potatoes in the near future. “Baby” small potatoes should be available for harvest by mid summer for stews and roasts. “Salt potatoes” is a good recipe for the potatoes too anything over the size of a marble on through egg sized is good just boiled in a heavy salt brine and eaten whole. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[​IMG]<st1:place w:st="on">Yukons</st1:place></st1:State> are in bloom the reds will be gone. That will eliminate the chance of cross pollination. Cross pollination would just result in a hybrid plant. No big deal but since I plan to use a portion of the Yukon Gold harvest for seed in subsequent years, I’ll try to keep them separate.
     
  3. CBMS

    CBMS Looking for a safe place

    Hey, Has anyone tried to grow Quinoa? its pronounced Keen-wah. and its friggen amazing. Anywho, its a great crop, just need to figure out how to process it
     
  4. franks71vw

    franks71vw Monkey+++

    Quinoa,, ahh you have discovered an high protein/ calorie packed seed. For best results remove the seedcost and its like cuscos but way better...
    Also where is the best place to get potatos to grow etc I have never planted them but thought Meat and potatoes always tasted good. I get tired of rice but havent so far of potato (true I dont eat it so often)
     
  5. FalconDance

    FalconDance Neighborhood Witch

    I want to try amaranth. At least it's native to the Americas and supposed to be very nutritious.
     
  6. SLugomist

    SLugomist Monkey++

    Quinoa (pronounced http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation KEEN-wah or /ˈkinoʊə/ KEE-no-uh, Spanish quinua, quínoa, or quinoa) is a species of Chenopodium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Chenopodium_polyspermum_leaves_and_flowers_1_AB.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Chenopodium_polyspermum_leaves_and_flowers_1_AB.jpg/200px-Chenopodium_polyspermum_leaves_and_flowers_1_AB.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/aa/Chenopodium_polyspermum_leaves_and_flowers_1_AB.jpg/200px-Chenopodium_polyspermum_leaves_and_flowers_1_AB.jpg (Chenopodium) grown as a Agriculture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Rice_Field2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Rice Field2.jpg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Rice_Field2.jpg/160px-Rice_Field2.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/26/Rice_Field2.jpg/160px-Rice_Field2.jpg primarily for its edible Seed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Brown_Flax_Seeds.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Brown_Flax_Seeds.jpg/220px-Brown_Flax_Seeds.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/5/56/Brown_Flax_Seeds.jpg/220px-Brown_Flax_Seeds.jpg. It is a Pseudocereal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Quinoa.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Quinoa.jpg/150px-Quinoa.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/4/41/Quinoa.jpg/150px-Quinoa.jpg rather than a true Cereal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Various_grains.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Various_grains.jpg/350px-Various_grains.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/b3/Various_grains.jpg/350px-Various_grains.jpg as it is not a Poaceae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Meadow_Foxtail_head.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Meadow_Foxtail_head.jpg/220px-Meadow_Foxtail_head.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/ad/Meadow_Foxtail_head.jpg/220px-Meadow_Foxtail_head.jpg. Its leaves are also eaten as a Leaf vegetable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Swiss_Chard.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Swiss_Chard.jpg/220px-Swiss_Chard.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/be/Swiss_Chard.jpg/220px-Swiss_Chard.jpg, much like Amaranth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Amaranthus_tricolor0.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Amaranthus_tricolor0.jpg/300px-Amaranthus_tricolor0.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/9/91/Amaranthus_tricolor0.jpg/300px-Amaranthus_tricolor0.jpg, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

    Quinoa originated in the Andes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg" class="image" title="Aerial photo of a portion of the Andes between Argentina and Chile"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg/300px-Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/2f/Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg/300px-Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg region of South America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:South_America_(orthographic_projection).svg" class="image"><img alt="South America (orthographic projection).svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/200px-South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/0/0f/South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/200px-South_America_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Map-Hispanophone_World.png" class="image"><img alt="Map-Hispanophone World.png" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Map-Hispanophone_World.png/350px-Map-Hispanophone_World.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/6/6c/Map-Hispanophone_World.png/350px-Map-Hispanophone_World.png spelling of the Quechua - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Merge-arrows.svg" class="image"><img alt="Merge-arrows.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Merge-arrows.svg/50px-Merge-arrows.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/5/52/Merge-arrows.svg/50px-Merge-arrows.svg.png name. Quinoa is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy, so it can be easily cultivated in the Andes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg" class="image" title="Aerial photo of a portion of the Andes between Argentina and Chile"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg/300px-Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/2f/Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg/300px-Aerial_photo_of_the_Andes.jpg up to about 4,000 meters. Even so, it grows best in well-drained soils and requires a relatively long growing season. In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a Leaf miner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Leaf-miner-damage.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Leaf-miner-damage.jpg/220px-Leaf-miner-damage.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/3/39/Leaf-miner-damage.jpg/220px-Leaf-miner-damage.jpg that may reduce crop success; this leaf miner also affects the common weed Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.
    Similar Chenopodium species, such as Pitseed Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Chenopodiumberlandieri.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Chenopodiumberlandieri.jpg/240px-Chenopodiumberlandieri.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/1/11/Chenopodiumberlandieri.jpg/240px-Chenopodiumberlandieri.jpg) and Fat Hen (Chenopodium album - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg/250px-Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/b7/Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg/250px-Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg) were grown and domesticated in North America as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:A_sunflower.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/A_sunflower.jpg/180px-A_sunflower.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/a9/A_sunflower.jpg/180px-A_sunflower.jpg before Maize - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Koeh-283.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Koeh-283.jpg/220px-Koeh-283.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/c/c4/Koeh-283.jpg/220px-Koeh-283.jpg agriculture became popular. Chenopodium album - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg/250px-Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/b7/Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg/250px-Melganzenvoet_bloeiwijze_Chenopodium_album.jpg, which has a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, produces edible seeds and greens much like quinoa, but in lower quantities. Caution should be exercised in collecting this weed, however, because when growing in heavily fertilized agricultural fields it can accumulate dangerously high concentrations of Nitrate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Nitrate-ion-resonance-2D.png" class="image" title="Canonical forms of the nitrate ion resonating"><img alt="Canonical forms of the nitrate ion resonating" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nitrate-ion-resonance-2D.png/400px-Nitrate-ion-resonance-2D.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/8/81/Nitrate-ion-resonance-2D.png/400px-Nitrate-ion-resonance-2D.png

    Above quoted from Wikipedia
    Sounds like a good crop to have around, lots of uses.
    You could use this plant to cure meat naturally due to the high level of nitrates in it as well as other uses.

    One for ya'll, a weed tree native to the southeast US, called Yaupon Holly. It's leaves smell and taste like tea and it is high in caffiene and anitoxidants.
     
  7. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    Any garden supply catalog place will have seed potatoes. In a pinch plant any you have.
     
  8. BuckBall

    BuckBall Woman Hater

    I'm reminded of my grandmother during these times. She told me long ago when grandfather was at war back in the '40's, food was scarce. Many a nights were based on just potatoes. She said she could fix them a hundred different ways, but it was still potatoes. Of course, they had other veggies and fruit and livestock, but the majority of meals were taters. When she would go to work, her lunch was a raw spud which she ate like an apple. My father, growing up during that time also took spuds to school and gave to other kids as a barter way of getting other goods. If it works, use it.
     
  9. RaymondPeter

    RaymondPeter Simple Man

    I remember eating spuds like that when I was a kid.
     
  10. BuckBall

    BuckBall Woman Hater

    As long as I have me salt, I'll eat it that way too
     
  11. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    taters are deer proof too. Toxic leaves and underground roots. no you can NOT eat the leaves bubba!
     
  12. CBMS

    CBMS Looking for a safe place

    I was taught raw Potatoes were toxic to eat. Thats why ya gotta cook em..
     
  13. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    Raw potatoes are not toxic (haven't killed me yet and I've been munchin' on slices during dinner prep for... well, let's just say a few years ;) ).
     
  14. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    Raw potatoes are NOT toxic - UNLESS the skins are the color green. Potatoes are in teh nightshade familiy. Leaves, stems and any green roots (from exposure to sunlight while growing) are toxic. Any part of the tubers that grew below ground is edible raw or cooked.
     
  15. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Ahh--. I guess that may explain a few things -- [troll]
     
  16. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

  17. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    [raspberry]

    ;)
     
  18. RaymondPeter

    RaymondPeter Simple Man

  19. FalconDance

    FalconDance Neighborhood Witch

    Actually, if you peel all the green off, the tuber is still perfectly safe to eat.
     
  20. groovy mike

    groovy mike Immortal

    Tango - plant them dry, not in water.
     
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