A proven winner in the garden and on the table. This gold potato lands a perfect score.
In my younger adult years, I avoided potatoes—starchy foods in general—except for the occasional order of fries when I needed a little food for comfort. Today, with a family to feed and grocery prices on the rise, I eagerly place gold potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) at the top of my food staples list along with the sweet potato. Read more on planting sweet potatoes --The Sweetest Potatoes.
I stumbled onto the gold potato about 5 years ago in Trader Joe’s while I was looking for an easy-to-steam, soft potato to mash for my then 1 year-old toddler just learning to eat solid foods. Prior to my parenting days, I would purchase Idaho potatoes if needed for a special recipe settling for their rough skin and tough interior overlooking less robust varieties like the gold. Determined to provide my little one with the best food experience possible, I took a chance on the modest medium-sized potatoes with golden-skin and tiny brown freckles.
Washing them was a breeze. Cutting them—so smooth. Tossing them in the steamer—a perfect score! And the flavor—buttery with a hint of sweetness. Since that time, I have used these golden babies for everything—except for french fries. Sorry to say that these potatoes contain a water content too high to produce a crisp potato slice in the deep fryer. No biggie for me though since homemade fries are not really my thing.
This potato earns a gold medal for its multiple culinary uses and for its easy-to-grow performance in my garden. During these cooler winter months, we are currently in the middle of raising our third crop. Now is the perfect time for them to flourish with minimal attack from caterpillars and whiteflies and without stress usually brought on by the dryness of the spring and the high heat of the summer. We planted our previous crop this past spring and then rushed to harvest our baby potatoes as the plants struggled under the intense heat. They were still just as delicious!
I planted this year’s crop in the middle of October quite excited to get them in the ground. I do believe I planted them a little too early since they grew rather slowly after their initial sprouting. I should have sowed the potatoes closer to the middle of November. Fortunately, they are now stretching out nicely with the 60-70 degree weather we have been enjoying within this southern stretch of the Florida peninsula. I plan to harvest these potatoes at the end of January. Stay tuned for a harvest update as part of my Harvest Series to see this year’s crop production.
Plant gold potatoes that are sure to win with the following steps.
Step 1
Store potatoes (harvested or store-bought) in a dark place for about 2 weeks.
Step 2
Allow potatoes time to grow "eyes".
Step 3
Plant potatoes with eyes facing upward and cover with soil.
Step 4
Water potato after planting, and water as needed to prevent the soil from drying out while the potato begins to produce sprouts.
Step 5
Allow vines to grow along the ground or tie to a stake.
Step 6
Harvest potatoes within 80-95 days.
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