Our vegetable starts have arrived in the Garden Shop! We are excited to be offering thirteen varieties of certified organic seed potatoes this season. Whether or not you have grown potatoes before, there is sure to be a variety that will inspire you. The names alone are enough to sow the seeds of curiosity - from Island Sunshine to Russian Banana to Purple Majesty! Quantities are limited, so stop by soon to take advantage of the full selection. A “Potato Care Sheet” is available with tips to help ensure success. Potatoes need full sun, but not necessarily as much space as you might assume. They can be successfully grown vertically in a number of different containers, such as a wooden bin with removable slats, which allows the potatoes to be harvested from the bottom up. New to Orchard this year is the “Potato Tub.” These are heavy duty ripstop bags with a Velcro “trapdoor” near the bottom. Sold in packages of two, these collapsible bags are handy, perfect for small spaces, and easily stored away for the next season.
 
The current potato selection includes the following varieties:

• Yukon Gold
• Russet Norkotah
• Cal White
• Island Sunshine
• German Butterball
• Red Lasoda
• Red Pontiac
• All Red
• Purple Majesty
• French Fingerling
• Rose Finn Apple
• Red Thumb
• Russian Banana

 
Other vegetable starts currently available in the Garden Shop:

• Canadian Red and Victoria Rhubarb
• Early Italian Purple and Inchelium Red Garlic
• Dutch Yellow and Holland Red Shallots
• White Ebenezer. Yellow Rock and Red Wethersfield Onions
  

BULBS

Summer Blooming Bulbs: Our selection of summer blooming bulbs, including brilliant dahlias, stately glads, and many lesser known bulbs, has started to arrive. The rest of our stock, including large begonia tubers, should be arriving during the next two weeks. Still available: a small number of high quality Paperwhite bulbs, ideal for indoor forcing. For a touch of early spring, start some inside in a container with gravel and water and enjoy their simple beauty.

Helianthus Tuberosus
(Sunchokes, Jerusalem Artichokes)

This root vegetable has started to make it onto many restaurant menus. The delicious tubers of this native North American perennial sunflower were a staple food of Native Americans and early settlers.

Sunchokes have ivory colored flesh that is crispy when raw. Their delicate flavor is slightly sweet and nutty, reminiscent of jicama, water chestnuts, and even artichokes.

They can be eaten raw in salads or cooked by boiling or steaming and served as a side dish. Roasting is also a very delicious way to eat them, especially when tossed with oil and added to the roasting pan of chicken, turkey, lamb, or pork during the last half hour of cooking. They also make delicious soup!

Plant the tubers in early spring. Enrich the soil with lots of compost and manure. Space the tubers 18”- 24” apart, in rows 2’- 3’ apart. Water regularly. Mound the soil up around the plants when they reach 12” high. The plants will get 6’-10’ tall and bloom in late summer with small sunflowers. Harvest the tubers after the plant dies in the fall. If you miss any tubers, they will come up again next spring!

Last Week's Question: What is the only essential vitamin not found in the white potato?

Prize Winner: Cheryl Cohen has won a $10 Orchard Nursery gift certificate. Congratulations! Gift certificates are to be picked up within two weeks of winning. Winner must bring an ID to the nursery to claim the prize. Prize must be picked up in person. Employees are not eligible for this contest. Please stay tuned for another question next week!