Post #3942086

I have probably already written about this here or in my newsletter, but my heart really sings to have reached our first year growing potatoes. My "alignment" as a gardener is more toward herbs, or toward flowers that may be edible but mostly serve an ecological or ornamental function. I care about growing food for personal sustainability reasons & because fresh garden produce is simply the best, but still I'm usually quite happy to let my owner do most of the food-gardening work; for some reason I'm just more drawn to engage with plants that don't have much caloric use for humans. Seasoning, medicine, pollinator support, those are the things I love. Perhaps not coincidentally, those plants also tend to need less constant attention... & even though it's been a goal of mine to spend more time actively gardening now that we're starting to address certain obstacles (personal sensitivity to heat & UV light, plus sensory issues with the grass that we leave long on purpose), I know I am just the "lazy" kind of gardener at my core. Tbh I'd often rather forage, taking whatever the landscape gives to me in the moment rather than trying to cultivate any one thing on a consistent basis! Nonetheless, when it does come to growing food, I am nothing if not a total fanatic about potatoes, an incredibly versatile & nutrient dense gift to various working class ancestors of mine with a cultural significance on par with tomatoes for Italians. & don't get me wrong, I love a good tomato, but my potato response feels almost epigenetic. There is a lot to unpack with the colonial history itself, but in general my stance on potatoes is "a perfect, wonderfully weird entity & essential calorie crop for those of us living with cold climates & poor quality soil."