Springing Into Some Tater Talk

Do you remember the old philosophy of planting your seed potatoes on Good Friday so you could have potatoes by the 4th of July? I remember planting a lot of seed potatoes, doing a lot of hoeing, and picking a lot of potato bugs, but I don’t remember having potatoes on the 4th of July.

Does anyone have memories of using the potato peelings for planting? Maybe this started during the Depression years, when nothing went to waste. The cook of the house just peeled the spuds extra thick and planted the peelings. The household potato supply was probably pretty short and had lots of eyes and sprouts by spring so they would be ideal for planting.

Some of you may remember planting potatoes under the outside edges of a straw stack. Apparently they grew well and saved on the digging in the fall. I wonder if it also cut down on the weeding. That would have been an added benefit. By mid-summer you could have fresh peas and creamed new potatoes. That was a treat.

Hey, I bet you can still plant potatoes this spring if you are inclined.

Gwen welcomes your memories at 367-5582.