"Julie Bove" wrote in message
news:CjKAi.18$Pa5.16@trndny09...
When I was a kid, 40some years ago, I remember that the potatoes we bought
were pretty dirty. Always had to scrub them with a brush before fixing
them to eat. But in more recently years, I've noticed that most all of
the potatoes I've gotten have been so clean that they only seem to need a
quick rinse in the sink. Only have to pull out the brush every once in a
while. Until tonight.

I get a box of organic produce weekly from a local farm. Most of the time
even their potatoes are pretty clean. But the paper bag of baby reds I
put in tonight's soup were so dirty I had a hard time getting them clean.
They were just encased in thick dirt that turned to mud and splattered my
shirt as I tried to clean them. And I scrubbed them so much to get the
mud off that most of the peel came along with it.

Now I realize the growers or vendors or someone along the food chain is
probably using some method of cleaning that I'd most likely not want to
know the particulars of. Or maybe I would... But my question is: When
was the last time you got some really dirty potatoes? Unless of course
you grow them yourself!
When produce is ready, it must be harvested or quality will be lost. If the
soil is wet at the time of harvest, the produce will carry more soil.
Growers can't always have ideal conditions for harvest.
Janet

"Julie Bove" wrote in message
news:NsMAi.25$_A5.17@trndny03...

snip
Interesting. I grew up with farmers on both sides of the family but I was
always cautioned that there were certain things it was best not to grow
and potatoes were one of them. Why? You could buy them cheaply and it
wasn't worth the effort. I know my grandpa planted them some years though
because my mom told me about growing them. And I'm pretty sure we grew
them at least once when I was a kid.
snip

It's true that the generic potatoes are cheap to buy but growing at home
allows you to grow different varieties that may not be available at the
market or are very expensive to buy. Also, freshly picked potatoes are more
flavorful and almost 'sweet.' I haven't grown potatoes in years because my
increasingly shady yard doesn't allow me the space for them, but I wish I
could grow them. Having potatoes in the garden means you can go out and
steal the little baby potatoes from the growing plant. Yummy.
Janet

On Aug 27, 8:45 pm, Sheldon wrote:
Steve Wertz wrote:
Sheldon wrote:
Just last week, heading out to mow my back field:

That was pretty boring.

Maybe it is, but it's better than doing nothing.

Obviously what's most boring of all is your entire soulless life...
why do you bother to wake up each day... you don't ever do anything,
you don't earn the air you breathe. Those of us who are constructive
at something, anything, can put that air you waste to better use. How
about we make a bargain, you stop breathing and I'll do things that
are more interesting.

What I'm wondering about is the gasoline you "waste."
Is mowing your "back field" a hobby? Is keeping that "back field"
mown really constructive?
Are you contending that Steve's respiration is more a waste of oxygen
than the engine on your tractor?

All that said, your "back field" is pretty.

--Bryan

"Julie Bove" wrote:
"Sheldon" wrote:

That's nonsense. The farmer's market seller either lied or is
ignorant. Potatoes grow underground, they're wet all the time. All
the big potato growers wash their potatoes right in the field as soon
as they're dug, they need to be clean to receive a USDA grade.
Whoever was selling dirt encrusted potatoes was either too lazy to
clean the spuds when harvested or enjoyed a bigger profit selling
dirt.

Interesting. I didn't know that they were supposed to be cleaned to get the
USDA grade.

You really don't need to have much IQ to realize that it's not
possible to grade a potato you can't see. Visual inspection is
actually more important than you may realize... not to mention how can
one accurately weigh potatoes (yes, weighing is part of grading) that
have probably 15pct of their weight in dirt... just as a customer you
definitely got ripped off at the scale.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/standards/potatoes.pdf


Sheldon

"Janet B." wrote in message
...

When produce is ready, it must be harvested or quality will be lost. If
the soil is wet at the time of harvest, the produce will carry more soil.
Growers can't always have ideal conditions for harvest.

Ah, okay. Hadn't thought of that.

On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 05:32:22 -0700, Bobo Bonobo®
wrote:

On Aug 27, 8:45 pm, Sheldon wrote:
Steve Wertz wrote:
Sheldon wrote:
Just last week, heading out to mow my back field:

That was pretty boring.

Maybe it is, but it's better than doing nothing.

Obviously what's most boring of all is your entire soulless life...
why do you bother to wake up each day... you don't ever do anything,
you don't earn the air you breathe. Those of us who are constructive
at something, anything, can put that air you waste to better use. How
about we make a bargain, you stop breathing and I'll do things that
are more interesting.

What I'm wondering about is the gasoline you "waste."
Is mowing your "back field" a hobby? Is keeping that "back field"
mown really constructive?
Are you contending that Steve's respiration is more a waste of oxygen
than the engine on your tractor?

--Bryan

but mowing the back field is not sheldon's most important work. as
far as i can tell, his primary task on earth is calling out lying,
greasy wops.

your pal,
blake