Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Potatoes are an ideal homestead food crop. They are easy to grow, are  
nutritious, and store well. They are a staple around which many  
ruralites build their homegrown menu. So it was in our family as I  
grew up first on our edge-of-town abundant acre and then our farm. So  
when a negative is suggested, there is resistance.

A year or three ago--time zips--one of the ladies here, Marie?,  
offered some information on the potential health negatives from  
eating potatoes, especially without peeling to remove that green  
layer just under the skin, apparently caused when the sun shines  
bright on the skin. (Mulch, mulch, mulch.) At the time I didn't think  
the caution applied to me. A short time later some of my joints  
started talking to me. I decided to experiment. I stopped eating  
potatoes. I stopped growing them at Heartwood and I stopped buying  
them in the city. Eventually I stopped thinking about them.

At some point it occurred to me that my joint pain was gone. Why? I  
pondered the various possibilities. Lower stress? Other dietary  
change? Dry Phoenix heat? None could be excluded; all could be factors.

My present persuasion is that there is something to the potato  
question. Possibly to all nightshades. I am beginning to eat potatoes  
again. One difference is I am peeling them of that green tissue just  
under the skin. An aside: I wonder if the dark-skinned spuds keep the  
sun from creating the green; I have recently peeled some purple  
taters and there did not seem to be any green under the skin.  
Something to add to the experiment.

Any other personal experiences we should know about?