The Doomsday Potato?

Hold the Potato Presses! :o)

I thought your humble potato comments deserved and needed a WHOLE new post. So, here we go!

ROB said...
Yeah...corn is cool, carrots I can do without though. I'm pretty much a meat-eater in the greatest sense of the word. I lie tomatoes but then someone came along and told me they're a fruit. Even the few vegetables I do like are getting taken away. LOL!
3:02 PM, April 11, 2008

Stop lying about those tomatoes, Rob. heh. :o) Well, eat those tomatoes ... they're good for ya and they taste great! Less filling! Taste Great! Less filling! Taste Great! (you decide.) I vote for the movement to reclassify tomatoes as vegetable.

Lucy said...
Ah... potatoes. This must be the post to balance my evil post of a while back. ;-)Cute, tink -- I loved your plot pun. And cool you got the thing to grow.Don't potatoes contain some nicotine? Or is that just eggplants and tomatoes?Ah, yes, SWEET potatoes. Now there's a potato. Remember: potatoe?LOL(p.s. I've been relatively nightshade-free ever since I wrote my post on that plant family. Has it done me any good yet? Remains to be seen... coz gosh, I do actually love potatoes and tomatoes. Esp. tomatoes. I miss 'em).
7:22 PM, April 11, 2008

Well, Lucy I wasn't really aiming for balance there - even though I'm a Libra to the core. I had NO idea as I wrote this post, that one week later ... 2008 would be named
"The Year of The Potato" by the United Nations. They went so far as to call it a Hidden Treasure! Not only did *that* alone make me highly suspicious ... but as we will discover shortly, thousands of POTATO SEEDS fill the Doomsday Vault, located in the Arctic Circle. Your last post with "B flattened by" was pure brilliance, as opposed to my trifling plot pun. heh.

Lucy said...
Hi again Tink,Really -- the flower's beautiful. Potatoes are beautiful.My husband, daughter and I went out to Red Robin for burgers last night and it was crystalized for me just how ubiquitous potatoes, tomatoes and all form of pepper are in our diets. Especially at restaurants. The entire menu consisted of various iterations of burgers ("with fries"), burgers ("with tomato"), banana peppers here, paprika there ... it was hilarious me tryng to locate something nightshade-free on the menu.Those beautiful steak fries just sat on my plate. Calling me. But I was strong.One day soon I'll relapse. I'm sure of it. ;-)
8:18 AM, April 12, 2008

It's possible, Lucy that Red Robin has plotted (pun again) with the United Nations to really really induce solanine psychosis in the world. However, when thinking more clearly, I realize that Oprah has the same effect .... I mean, look ... her name backwards is HARPO. Probably an etymological derivative of HARPOON. Harpoon = whale killer. Make your own assumptions! Hmph. But truly, I think that some people have acutely sensitive constitutions that are susceptible to even a hint of solanine, making them prone to all sorts of gastrointestinal and CNS/depressive symptoms. And that's a physiologic-based, probably based in reality, assumption. So, Lucy ... if you feel that potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, nightshade are not good for your body or chemistry, then that's what you must do. Eliminate them. No judgment there. ;o)

Lucy said...
P.S. You're right about us not being out of frost danger yet. Our frost-free date is May 15. When's yours?It's chilly again this weekend! Don't let Mr. Potato-Head get too much huger till he gets outside. :-)
8:21 AM, April 12, 2008

Lucy, I don't know. It's pretty much moot up here in the Arctic circle. hahaha. :o)

Lucy said...
oh-oh-oh, completely forgot! Been meaning to ask, tink, have you seen Emma Townshend's new horticultural blog? It's really sweet.Just google her.
11:44 AM, April 12, 2008

No, Lucy I have not yet seen it. If it's as nice as her voice, I'll bet it's a winner. Will search later on.

Dale said...
I didn't know they produced flowers, either. Hmmmmm...I really should know that.And I love potatoes. Mashed, boiled, fried, shredded, baked, stuffed, french fried...you name it!Potatoes are evil??I guess I'll have to check it out...

2:42 PM, April 13, 2008 Oh yes Dale! Tomatoes and potatoes. Evil, it has been suggested. Being members of the nightshade family, they produce solanine, nicotine, and atropine (maybe that's what solanine converts to .. I forget.) Anyway, some people are refusing to eat or even be near these plants and/or fruits and/or vegetables. It's caused quite the stir! I've said but but but "Potatoes are in the Bible! How can they be evil????" To which many guffawed may things not printable. But, anyway, our friends of the potato at University of Nebraska, Lincoln .... who *really* know their potatoes, have some interesting factoids about solanine and how to avoid its production!

Hans said...
They produce fruits as well, very much like cherry-tomatoes but they cannot be eaten! They contain a lot af solanine and yes, traces of nicotine. But very decorative they are. I have been growing potatoes all my life. Grew up on a small farm you see...
4:34 AM, April 15, 2008

This is what I love about you Hans you show up in the most unexpected places with the coolest, little known facts about yourself. Thank you! I'll be you also know about the Stink Bug, who can be seen up above.

Grace said...
Hi Tink, how are you?xox
9:31 PM, April 15, 2008

Grace I love how you always pop in with a sweet smile and kind word. Thank you. Makes me smile.

ray said...
We dig you too!http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080415/lf_nm/agflation_potato_dcSigned,Tater Man
11:17 PM, April 15, 2008

Gosh Tater Man Ray Thank you. I LOVED this article about the Humble Potato. It was printed about 2 weeks after my post. Do you think they copy-catted from my title? I'll think about copyright infringement. Anyway, if our Humble Potato-ers have not yet read this article... it's a must read! You will learn about the ::::ominous music:::: Doomsday Vault. And the potato's role in it. heh.

grace said...
Tink - I love your analagy of catching a couple in front of the boat. I have done alot of fishing, and big game fishing. Nice. Thanks for checking out the concert photos. I don't know if I am back down to earth yet?! xo
11:26 PM, April 15, 2008

See what I mean about Grace? :o) Your photos are spectacular, Grace. Can't get enough of 'em.

Lucy said...
Hans, are you talking about potatoes (when you said, "they produce fruits .. but cannot be eaten"?)Which do you think are worse (in terms of solanine) potatoes or tomatoes?(Sorry for being a downer on your thread, tink. No one feels worse about it than I do. I passed up a lovely potato salad tonight).
9:01 PM, April 16, 2008

Well. Lucy Yes .. Hans did, indeed, mean potato fruits. I read all about them this morning. They're LOADED with the things that make it a Nightshade family plant. The potato fruit look like little teeny, tiny green tomatoes and are loaded with deadly seeds. Considering that ALL tomatoes are actually almost the same teeny, tiny green fruit loaded with deadly seeds ... well it's no wonder that people from the South are wacked out. They eat fried green tomatoes, right? ! No wonder. (I love spreading fruit and vegetable wonder!) lol I also can't help but look to the Irish for some cream and comfort. They are quite a hardy people and relied on the potato for centuries of hardy survival. er. yeah. Anyway, I think that anything in excess is probably not so good. Moderation is key. ;o)

Here's a clip or two from Ray's amazing find on Yahoo:

The potato has potential as an antidote to hunger caused by higher food prices, a population that is growing by one billion people each decade, climbing costs for fertilizer and diesel, and more cropland being sown for biofuel production.

To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure."

ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080415/lf_nm/agflation_potato_dc

Though most Americans associate potatoes with the bland Idaho variety, they actually come in some 5,000 types. Peru is sending thousands of seeds this year to the Doomsday Vault near the Arctic Circle, contributing to a gene bank for food crops that was set up in case of a global disaster.

The Doomsday Vault???

The story

A vast underground vault storing millions of seeds from around the world is scheduled to open this week in a mountain on a remote island near the Arctic Ocean.

Dubbed the "Doomsday Vault," the seed bank is considered the ultimate safety net for the world's seed collections, protecting them from a wide range of threats including war, natural disasters, lack of funding or simply poor agricultural management.

The Norwegian government paid to build the vault in a mountainside near Longyearbyen, in the remote Svalbard islands between Norway and the North Pole. Building began last year, and the vault is scheduled to open officially Tuesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/25/norway.seeds/index.html

So, what I'm wondering now is WHY did Norway pay for this? And did they pay for it alone? Will they be the ultimate Kingdom if the Earth should go all the way to hell in a handbasket? Will Norwegians finally assume World Domination should something Really Bad happen? Someone MUST inform Rachel Fuller. Immediately!

From the potato heads at University of Nebraska (Lincoln):

Of itself, chlorophyll is not a health concern, it is harmless and tasteless. BUT, in potato tubers, it is like the "canary in the mine shaft." The green indicates an increase in the presence of glycoalkaloids, especially, in potato, the substance "solanine" (see structure). When the potato greens, solanine increases to potentially dangerous levels. Increased solanine levels are responsible for the bitter taste in potatoes after being cooked. Solanine biosynthesis occurs parallel but independent of chlorophyll biosynthesis; each can occur without the other. Unlike chlorophyll, light is not needed for solanine formation but is substantially promoted by it. The formation of solanine in potato is localized to the skin, usually no deeper than an eight of an inch (3 mm). In processed potatoes such as chips and fries, there is little hazard since peels are removed. It also needs to be strongly emphasized that potato breeding programs have resulted in the commercial release of only potato lines with very low levels of solanine.

The solution: Keep 'dem tubers in the DARK. No light, no solanine production. Barring the ownership of a root cellar in the basement, keep 'em in the refrigerator. Paper bagged or burlap sacked with vents holes.

Here's the part I liked the best. One of the most beneficial insects to have in/around a potato crop is .... tada! ... The Stink Bug. The stink bugs eat the damaging potato beetles. On the other hand, if you grow tomatoes near potatoes, the stink bugs (little vampires) will kill your tomato plants.

:0) See its lovely picture up above.