Potatoes are easy to grow and a mealtime staple in many households. They are filling and actually nutritious. We think of them as a good source of carbohydrates, but a medium potato also has three-four grams of protein and two-three g. of fiber; 15-18% of a daily potassium value and between 27-45% of daily recommended vitamin C. Not to mention, they are so versatile at mealtime: hash browns with eggs for breakfast, potato salad for lunch and picnics, and who doesn’t like a baked potato side with sour cream, bacon bits and fresh garden chives at a BBQ.
They are also fairly inexpensive to buy, but may not be as organic and nutritious as they would be grown in your own garden. Glyphosate (Roundup) is often used to kill vines before harvest. Chlorpropham, a sprout inhibitor, was once found on 90% of commercial potato samples (but not so much anymore). When eating purchased potatoes, most chemicals can be removed by washing and peeling them.
So then why don’t some gardeners just grow them? Often it is a question of space; they are limited in space, so they want to focus on tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, peas, zucchini, squash, herbs and salad greens. But what they may not know is that potatoes grow well as a companion plant. There is the option of slipping one or two starts in among some of your shallow-rooted growing crops or of planting another crop in your potato bed in between the potato rows.
You can plant fragrant and versatile basil between your potatoes. And they will even help deter pests. Almost any leafy green, like spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard or kale, has fairly shallow roots and really won’t bother the potatoes when they are planted in between potato rows.
Some space-saving gardeners plant rows of bush beans or peas between potato rows. The beans or peas are harvested first, prior to the potatoes, so they will give them more space if they need it. Also, they are both nitrogen fixers, which encourages the growth of bigger, healthier potatoes. Some space-saving gardeners have been pleased with the success of alternating rows of potatoes with Brassicas like broccoli, kale, cabbage and collard greens.
On the other hand, there are some crops, many in the nightshade family, to avoid planting near potatoes as they may share the same diseases. This includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Some say cucumbers, pumpkins, some squash and sunflowers can hinder potato development.
This may be the year to slip a few potatoes between your other crops. We have found them successfully volunteering around the compost pile. What a pleasant surprise.
Linda Morrison, a University of Washington graduate, lives in Kamiah with her husband, Jim. They enjoy gardening, canning, camping, berry picking and spending time with their grandchildren.
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