Allen: If there is one vegetable that most of us will consider an all time favorite, it has to be the “lonely potato”. Rusty and Sue Nufor have been growing fresh produced organically, for over 25 years. In this season alone, they are offering 27 varieties of potatoes.

Rusty: My fascination with potatoes I guess is that they are just such a staple. The average working person that wants to get something out of their garden that is a staple crop. It is hard to grow the cereal grains, but yet you can always get the crop of potatoes. And if you take a little bit of care, they will make something.

My preference in taste in potatoes is I do like to have some flavor there. Some whites and some reds are little blends for me. The fingerlings in general have a good earthy taste, and the rose and apple are very, very earthy almost roasted taste, even when it is steamed. We often get a response from people looking at our blue potatoes. There is this variety called “all blue,” and it is really pretty purple colored. They think--we throw potatoes away when they look like that, because they are very dark color, but they are great baker and they are great all-around potato really.

Allen: With so many varieties available to us, it would be easy to become a potato kind of sewer. So, encourage farmers in your area to grow a wide range of diverse produced. And support them by shopping at your farmers’ market.

From the garden, I am Allen Smith.

If you would like more information on this topic or any other gardening topic, just check out my website, pallensmith.com.