Blue Potatoes

In May I planted some specialty potatoes--Russian Blue and Fingerling Salad--in large containers. Later I tossed the remainder of the seed potatoes in a neglected raised bed with poor soil. It was a half-hearted experiment in growing potatoes and not very high on my priority list. Yesterday I harvested about five pounds of lovely little potatoes. It's nothing to get too excited about, but successful considering how little effort went into it.

Growing potatoes hasn't been important to me. After all, potatoes are cheap and easy to buy. But over the summer I learned that because potatoes are thin-skinned, they quickly absorb any chemicals in the soil. Therefore, if you can only afford to buy one organic vegetable, it should be potatoes.

As I plan next year's garden beds, I think I'll allow more space and consideration for growing my own potatoes. It might be more important than I realized.