The Potato

[digitS']

https://www.dramandaforeman.com/how-potatoes-conquered-the-world/

She had me right until the last ...



Steve

 

[aftermidnight]

Right behind it came this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozette_potato
I picked up a couple of these at Seedy Sunday and grew them for a number of years. It's hard to believe although not documented potatoes hadn't trickled up from South America long before this.

Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

Facts are facts and opinion is opinion. We can't always agree on facts, how are we supposed to agree on opinions?

Instant mashed potatoes are extremely convenient when you don't have time to cook. I understand that. Instant is all some people have experienced, they wouldn't know any better. But I assure you we boil potatoes here before mashed potatoes are served.

 

[digitS']

If you lived at 15,000 feet in the Andes, I suppose you would "invent" a freeze-drying process for most anything. Honestly, I've been surprised that the stuff in the box wasn't all that bad but variety is the spice of life! At least, that is my opinion .

Really, I should grow a fingerling even if they all seem to be late-maturing. It's a little difficult to believe that an Indian tribe have Europeans to thank for much of anything ...

This might be something else ... the C. pepo squashes were in plenty of Native North American gardens. Now, we can buy the seed for Navajo Hubbard, Mandan and Lakota squash. There is no question that these are heirlooms, by any definition. However, tissue testing apparently shows that the C. maxima squashes (differing from the pepo) all had a single South American location several hundred years ago.

Personally, I'm a little flabbergasted that the First People had time to get from one end of the continent to the other in a fairly short amount of time. Grass is always greener, I guess . Then, turn around and move anything north, again ..?

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Steve, this is directed to your comment on growing fingerlings. I've grown them here. They did very well. Unless you have a particular reason for needing a early maturing variety. I didn't find that they were all that late, maybe end of August, early September.

 

[ducks4you]

It is all in how you prepare. DD, who LOVES to cook now, peels then slices very small and has mastered boiling for 35 minutes, which makes the small slices tender enough to be successfully mashed.
Same thing with hot peppers in salsa, which you slice razor thin, then add, so nobody gets a mouth full of fire from their spicy dish.