My Potato Project; The Importance of "Organic"

[BanzaiBonnie]

Don't let anyone tell you there's no difference between organic and conventional produce.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exBEFCiWyW0&sns=fb


And those who know and have the money to afford it can buy the best organically grown food available. That's the trick. It's known that there are substances used in conventional farming that are toxic, and cause diseases like cancer, alzheimer, etc. Especially when assaults come from so many sources and directions.


I reccommend using any space around your house to grow as much of your own food as possible.

[truedelphi]

1. Thanks for sharing your project. Until we can get a revival of the Real Democratic Party

And a return to the principals of the FDR Administration, (whose Administration was clearly out for the masses of the people, and not the Industrialists who funded his first 1932 Presidential camapign), this country's food stock is in danger of total obliteration. Currently we need to have a President who sees to it that Monsanto officials are at the back of the bus, and not driving it. With Obama being totally owned by Monsanto, we are screwed. At least in terms of what we buy at the grocery stores.

When Obama made important selections to agencies, giving Monsanto the go ahead, during the same time period that Michelle was posturing with her organic garden project, I knew we were being taken for a ride.
Again, thanks for sharing your project. I try to buy organic potatoes whenever possible, as the others just will not "fluff" properly when mashed.

The problem is, for millions upon millions of city residents,
many of whom are working three jobs just to survive, we need a national exposure of the situation. And we won't get that until we have ourselves a revival.

[truedelphi]

2. A big K & R.

[enough]

3. Absolutely great! I am now off to my potato patch to give them some love. (nt)

[GKirk]

4. it was a cute presentation and all...

...but I'm not getting the "Which one would you rather eat?"
question at the end. What does sprouting have to do with taste?

[enough]

7. I think the idea is: do you want to eat a vegetable that has been sprayed with a chemical

that prevents it from sprouting? Why?

[truedelphi]

8. Especially when that chemical can be declared so dangerous that

Farmers do not enter the field for 72 hours after using it!

[MineralMan]

5. I grew potatoes one year in California.

A blight got them. All the tubers were attacked and turned into black much. I later found out that there was a fungus in our soil that caused it. I never tried again, because I would have had to treat the soil with toxic chemicals. Everything else grew fine. Not potatoes. I hope you have good success.

[JDPriestly]

10. Have you googled other ways to get rid of fungus in the soil?

This website provides some ideas. I don't know how they work.

http://diseases.growingpotatos.org/get-rid-of-plant-fungus-from-the-garden/

[MineralMan]

15. Hah! When I grew those potatoes, it was 1974.

No Google then. I just switched to other tuberous veggies. Turnips, rutabagas. They were fine.

Life was different in 1974. Just a bit.

[JDPriestly]

17. I wonder whether the fungus went away with time.

Apparently a really dry year can cause it to recede if not disappear.

[MineralMan]

18. I don't know, actually. Some of those fungi and other

problems are just endemic to some areas. Apparently, that was the case there.

[xxqqqzme]

11. You might want to try

Smart Pots - http://www.smartpots.com/

I am growing some beautiful potatoes in a ten gallon 'pot' this year. The soil is always blight free because you add it each year and the potatoes are isolated from the blight infected ground. This is the 3rd year I have used my smart pots. I'll probably get another 2 years out of them. This year I bought a smaller 'pot' to grow carrots. No more rocks making my carrots stubbies.

[Lochloosa]

16. Try sterilizing your garden. Put CLEAR plastic over it for 2-3 months and let it bake

Then try again

[PurgedVoter]

6. Another Big K&R NT

[JDPriestly]

9. I'm doing it in a small back yard in L.A.

It can be done. I have a lot of tomatoes in pots. Lots of lettuce in pots. A small raised bed on cement. Squash and beans among the flowers in a border around the cement in my back yard.

It can be done. I don't get a lot, but the few organic things I get taste much better than the store-bought. This is especially true of tomatoes.

Growing your own tomatoes is worth almost any amount of trouble.

The problem in LA is water.

[CoffeeCat]

12. I am so tired of the power that corporations have...

...in this country!

Their power is more important than the citizens of this country. In fact, our elected
officials make it possible for them to operate in ways that KILL US. All to enhance
their profits and power.

It is utterly revolting, and it is an affront to every citizen in this country.

Monsanto kills us with their poison, and the nuclear-energy companies get to spread
radioactive isotopes all over the world--into our food and water supplies.

We outnumber them at least 20,000 to 1. What in the hell are we doing?

I guess we're growing our own potatoes...which is a damn good start, in my opinion!

[felix_numinous]

13. K&R!!

[bvar22]

14. #1 !.. She is adorable.

We added Potatoes to our Grow Our Own Menu this year.
We planted Yukon Golds seed potatoes March 1st,
and a couple of weeks later, added some Red Potatoes that had sprouted under the sink.

Both grew like crazy, and we dutifully added layers of a mixture of hay, aged compost, and garden soil.
About 2 weeks ago, they turned yellow, wilted, and died.
We figured it was from some form of wilt or blight.
We decided to Solarize the soil we were using for the potatoes,
and as we were digging it out, discovered lots of potatoes.
We had planted 3 Red Potatoes cut into several sections,
and harvested over 10 pounds.
They were much better than anything available in the stores.
We checked the Yukon Gold bed, and, Yep, lots of potatoes.
We haven't yet dug out that bed.

Next year, we are going to dedicate more space to several different varieties of Potatoes.

My wife & I are very concerned about the contamination and corruption of the American Factory Food
Production, Handling, Transportation, & Distribution system.
In 2006,we moved to The Woods (Ouachita Mtns, Arkansas),
FAR from Urban/Suburban/Industrial/Commercial Ag toxins,
and began producing as much of our own food as possible.
Chem fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and GM crops are forever BANNED from our little hilltop.

We also Keep HoneyBees and Free Range Chickens.
So far, so good!
:hippie:


K&R