A Garden Treasure Hunt and a Recipe for Leek and Potato Soup
Harvesting Potatoes
The potatoes that we planted in the fall were ready for harvesting
this weekend. Fresh potatoes have a wonderful, snappy texture and flavor
that I have never found in store bought potatoes. They are such an easy
and rewarding crop to grow. Here in the south, we plant our seed
potatoes in November in raised beds that are rich in compost and healthy
organic matter. Check with your local extension office to determine the
best time to plant in your zone. Once the vines grow a few inches, we
give them a good 4-6 inches of mulch to keep them cool and protect them
from the sun. Other than that, regular watering is about all that is
needed to encourage potatoes to grow strong and healthy. An occasional,
maybe monthly, feeding with compost tea or manure tea helps, too. We use
Moo Poo tea, as it is natural, easy to use, and good for the soil.
How does one know when to harvest potatoes? Well, the plants tell
you. As long as the potato vines look healthy and green, the potatoes
are still growing deep in the soil. During this time, you may harvest
baby “new” potatoes if you would like. This year, I left all of my
potatoes in the ground for a main harvest. Potatoes take about 120 days
to fully mature, depending upon the growing environment, weather,
watering practices, and other elements. Once the vines begin to flower,
the tubers underneath the soil begin to swell. Shortly thereafter, the
vines will slow down, and begin to turn yellow and brown and fall over.
They don’t look nearly so pretty. This is natural, and a sign that the
taters are ready. Hallelujah!
Several days before you plan to harvest, discontinue watering the
potato bed. This is a big help in harvesting, as it’s much easier to dig
through light, dry soil than through heavy, muddy soil. To begin the
harvest, remove any mulch, and pull up all the potato stalks. They are
great to add to your compost pile. Then, the fun begins. Most people use
a flat tined fork or pitchfork to harvest potatoes, but because I plant
a small crop in raised beds, I start the treasure hunt for those
beautiful tubers by putting some gloves on and searching through the
soil by hand. This does take a little more time, but I enjoy the hunt,
and it has a major advantage in that my gentle hands won’t damage the
delicate skins of the tubers. If the skin is damaged, the potato will
not store well.
Once I have worked my way methodically through the entire bed and
found all the potatoes I can, I go back through it again with a
pitchfork, slowly and methodically. I dig section by section, getting
the pitchfork as deeply as possible into the soil, carefully turning it
over, and piling it on the previous section. This process serves two
functions. First, I find the rest of the potatoes that are deep within
the bed, and second, I begin to prepare the soil for a new crop by
removing any debris and weeds and turning over the soil. Once I have
removed every last potato, I finish preparing the soil by adding compost
and organic starter fertilizer, turning it into the soil, and smoothing
out the bed. Now the bed is ready for a new crop.
Storing Potatoes
Once you have harvested all your gorgeous, fat tubers, you will
probably want to celebrate and enjoy some of your harvest immediately. I
always do, and last night I made a lovely leek and potato soup, rich
with home-cured pancetta, cream and fresh thyme from the garden. I made
enough to freeze a batch for later, too. The remainder of the
crop should be cured for storage. Gently wipe off most of the remaining
soil, and spread the taters out in a cool, dark and dry area that has
good ventilation. Examine the tubers for any damage, as damaged ones
will not store well. I don’t throw these away, but I do cut away any
damage and use them immediately (I used these for my soup). Unblemished
potatoes should be cured for a few weeks, and then stored in well,
ventilated sacks in a cool, dark place. Properly cured, they will store
well for months. It is not recommended to store potatoes in the
refrigerator, as the cool temperature encourages the starch to turn into
sugar. However, that’s where I store mine, as we don’t grow enough to
store for longer than a few months.
Just-Harvested Potatoes and Leeks
Leek and Potato Soup with Pancetta
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup of diced pancetta or bacon
4-6 leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
2-3 large potatoes peeled and diced
4 1/2 cups (or more) organic chicken stock
1-2 cups half and half
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)
Preparation
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add pancetta
and cook until beginning to crisp. Add leeks; stir to coat with butter.
Cover saucepan; cook until leeks are tender, stirring often, about 10
minutes. Add diced potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes begin to
soften but do not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add
chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover
and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Add
cream and thyme, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove thyme
sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off ).
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth and silky in
texture. Or transfer the soup in batches to a blender to puree. Thin
with additional stock if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.
(Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Bring soup to
simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with chives and serve.
Posted by GreenSoilTea
@ 08:03 PM PDT
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