Tag: potatoes

A Passion For Growing Potatoes in Alaska

Larry Opperman

Consider the humble potato. It’s not much to look at, yet millions of people have relied on it as a significant food source for thousands of years. One only has to look at Ireland to see the importance of the potato: In 1845, when a fungus-like infestation decimated the potato crop there, nearly a million people starved, and another million were forced to emigrate to escape starvation. Scholars believe the potato originated in the Andes Mountains of South America, and an estimated 5,000 varieties of potato now exist worldwide. Today, Read More …

Homely Potato Soup

irene

No, that’s not a ‘title typo’, while this potato soup is ‘homey’ it is also a great way to use up those random ‘homely’ potatoes we end up with while digging spuds. (Which leads me to wonder, is ‘homely’ even an acceptable term anymore?) Setting that rumination aside, the potatoes I’m referring to are those that may have been impaled by a digging fork, or sliced by a shovel; they may have gnarly, scabby skins (a problem in 2018, when the critical early tuber set period was marked by a Read More …

All About Potatoes – Lesson Plan

klodens

Materials: 10 – 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled on the bottoms and lower sides for drainage 5 bags of soil 20-25 seed potatoes (depending on # of students) After harvest: Large pot or crock pot depending on recipe Procedure: Students will each receive a seed potato to plant one at a time in the buckets with the soil provided. About 2 inches of soil at the bottom of the bucket, plant potato seeds and fill bucket with soil. Volunteer students can take this home and water them over the Read More …