Country Living Skills

I got this information from snopes.com:

The potato, the ultimate comfort food in Western society, has a disturbing secret. potatoes This trustworthy old friend so often invited to our tables can, at times, slip us a little bit of poison.

The potato — or, rather, green versions of it — contains a natural toxin called solanine. The greenish hue that should warn you away from such spuds is actually chlorophyll, but its presence indicates concentration of solanine are present in the tuber.

A glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade, solanine is a nerve toxin produced in the green part of the potato (the leaves, the stem, and any green spots on the skin). This bitter poisonous
crystalline alkaloid is part of the plant’s defenses against insects, disease, and predators. Potato leaves and stems are naturally high in glycoalkaloids, so ingestion of these parts of the plant must be avoided at all costs.

Solanine develops in potatoes when spuds are subjected to light or either very cold or warm temperatures. It interferes with the body’s ability to use a particular chemical that facilitates the transmission of impulses between cells. Ingested in large enough amounts, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and even paralysis of the central nervous system.

However, unless you are deliberately seeking out green potatoes to eat, you are unlikely to ingest enough of the toxin to do harm. The potatoes we buy contain such a minute amount of the chemical that a healthy adult would have to eat about 4-1/2 pounds at one sitting to experience any neurological symptoms. Ergo, don’t worry about having the occasional green potato chip, but do discard any potatoes that have green eyes, sprouts, or greenish skins, rather than prepare and serve them, especially to children. (Children’s smaller body size makes them more susceptible to ill effects.)

We just wanted to share a picture from our garden

Last night we dug up our early potatoes, the dark red Norland, and they turned out very well. we got roughly 10 lbs and will eat the small ones tonight with salted butter and poached eggs.

No idea how to make poached eggs ? Here is how (plan 2 eggs per person):

• Fill medium size skillet with water, 3 inches high. Skillet should have a lid
• Set heat on high, bring water to a boil
• Crack eggs individually in small containers (cups, for example)
• When water boils, add 1 tbsp of plain vinegar and some salt to the water
• Let the eggs slide into the water by lowering the lip of the egg-cup 1/2 inch below the water surface and then tilt to let the egg slide out, put lid back on quickly and shut off the heat
• Let sit for 3 minutes for medium-firm yolks
• Remove lid, take out poached eggs. If you don’t like the taste of vinegar on them, put them in a bowl of cold water first to stop the cooking process and wash off the vinegar
• Enjoy with buttered toast or, like we will, with wonderful new dark red Norland potatoes.

We have flea beetles on our potatoes, mainly. Last year they destroyed our eggplants, so this year we are waging war against them - non-chemical warfare, of course. So here is what we do:

Flea beetles, much like potato or cucumber beetles and other unwanted critters, can be deterred with an infusion made of nicotine. If you have a smoker in the family, gather the cigarette and cigar buds instead of throwing them out. If you have about 25 of them, boil the tobacco without the filters in water, let stew for a few hours or overnight. Stain, dilute, and spray on the foliage of your plants. Repeat if necessary.

If you do not have a smoker in the family, buy cheap snuff and use a tbsp to brew the infusion.

If you want a stronger repellent, add three cloves of crushed garlic and a tbsp of red pepper flakes to the tobacco.

To prepare seed potato,

• expose them to warmth (60-70F) and light about a week before planting time.

A day or two before planting,

• cut them into seeds with a sharp knife. Each seed should have at least 1 or 2 “eyes”, each piece should be about 2 square inches.

• Wait until a thick callous has formed over the cuts before planting.

The callous will prevent the seeds from rotting once they are planted.