Off the Urban Grid

7 Reasons to Grow Potatoes in Your Vegetable Garden

Ask any vegetable gardeners, new or old, what their favorite things to grow are, and you’ll probably hear something like tomatoes or peppers or cucumbers… something that looks good dangling in the garden and tastes great fresh too.  It’s a littler rarer to hear someone wax nostalgic about potatoes.  Why grow potatoes when you can buy 10 pounds of them cheaply at the store?

Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of reasons to grow potatoes.  I’m sure there are more than 7, but that’s the magic number I pulled out of my blog-o-hat for today.  So let’s get started:

7 Reasons to Grow Potatoes at Home

1. Food prices are going up – as I write this post, the U.S. government is printing money at a record pace, and there’s a lot of talk of major inflation coming down the pipe in the next few years (lots of other countries are having problems too).  It’s going to make a lot of sense to grow whatever you can that your family will use–don’t count on being able to get a 10 pound bag of potatoes for a few bucks indefinitely.
2. Potatoes can last months after they’re pulled up — unlike those flashy tomatoes and exotic purple peppers, potatoes can be stored through the winter in optimal conditions (root cellar).  And even though few of us city folk have root cellars, we can simulate them: find a spot that’s dark, dry, and cool (around 45-50 degrees).  This can be anywhere from a garage or shed to that wine refrigerator you can’t afford to keep full of your favorite vintages any more.  And if you don’t have a storage spot, there’s always dehydrating, which gives any vegetable an indefinite shelf life.
3. Potatoes can be eaten at every meal — From breakfast hash browns, to lunch scalloped potatoes and ham, to a baked potato with dinner, this vegetable can be eaten for every meal if you’re trying to save money.  Unlike Top Ramen and other things college students are known for living off of, potatoes have some nutritional value too.
4. You can grow cool varieties that aren’t available in stores — The Purple Peruvian, Rose Finn Apple and La Ratte fingerlings, the All Blue potato shown in my picture up there… there are lots of yummy (and cool looking) varieties that you just won’t find at SafeWay (and even the speciality stores such as Whole Foods have limited shelf space) where you’re lucky to get two or three options.
5. They fill you up — Thanks to their high starch content, a potato is going to do a lot more to fill you up than some swissh chard and many other vegetables from your garden.  Again, if you’re trying to save money, there’s a lot to be said for growing something that keeps the family from getting hungry.
6. Potatoes are a good source of Vitamin C, B6, Potassium, and more — Since potatoes are so often deep fried into potato chips or french fries, we tend to think of them as junk food, but if you can keep yourself from slathering your potatoes in too much butter and oil, you’ll find they can be quite nutritious.  Potatoes are good sources for vitamin C, B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber.  They also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have desirable antioxidant activity.
7. You can grow them in tires — Come on, that’s just cool.  Raised garden beds are great for city dwellers with small lots, but they can be expensive.  Some tires reclaimed from the junkyard (or your last auto), not so much.  Read “a new use for old tires” to get the lowdown on how specifically (scroll down to “Potato Stacks”).  If tires sound too dirty for your liking, you could also pick up some of these inexpensive potato bins (I actually bought four from the Gardeners’ Supply Store, and I’ll be trying them out this year), which can be used over and over and stored flat during the winter.

There’s my list of 7 reasons to grow potatoes in your vegetable garden.  Are there any other reasons you like tatters?

Tags: gardening, potatoes