Growing Carrots & Potatoes

Carrots & Potatoes

by Lynn Huntington October in the garden has a lot in common with May in upstate New York, with not only many garden tasks but an accompanying enormous list of kitchen tasks. Summer is drawing to a close as I write this and high on our garden to-do list are harvesting, drying (curing), and storing potatoes, and continuing to thin carrot beds.

Today’s harvest included both carrot thinnings and one variety of potatoes; while I dig I’m also planning for what’s next. I have to admit to getting a little carried away with planting potatoes this year. Next year we’ll have to plant many non-nightshade plants in all potato and tomato beds to maintain a good system of crop rotation, which is so important for crop and garden health, but that is another article. If you are interested in learning more about crop rotation, I recommend The New Organic Grower’s Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, a wonderful resource for the organic gardener.

With a healthy portion of our potatoes harvested, it’s time to cure them for storage. We’ll consume those damaged during harvest and remove any green ones for the compost pile. To cure potatoes for storage, we just leave them in a dark room with normal indoor temperatures (no heat or air-conditioning) for a couple of weeks. This year I actually used my dining room table and covered them gently with a tablecloth.

Once cured, store them with fairly high humidity, not near apples, and, again, in the dark but with some ventilation. Open paper bags in a dark closed cabinet will do just fine, especially in a humid but cool space like a cellar. I recommend a closed cabinet to keep mice out of your harvest. Carrots, like potatoes, can be left in the ground until just before the ground freezes. Since potatoes seem more vulnerable to mice and voles we harvest them a bit earlier than carrots (in fact, a few years ago we dug 21 pounds of carrots on January 14!) but carrots can be continually thinned and every bit of the plant is usable, delicious and full of beta-carotene. When it is finally time to harvest carrots they are happily stored in airtight freezer bags in the coldest part of the refrigerator for a couple of

Check out The Roasted Root’s website at theroastedroot.net for a delicious Grain Free

Vegan Carrot Cake recipe that the author made for the Co-op’s 2019 dessert contest. months. For bigger quantities and longer storage, layer them in a box with damp sand between layers. These will keep best at just above freezing. In all cases remove greens from carrots you plan to store. As I thin carrots during the growing season our carrot menu changes. The earliest thinnings became part of 5 quarts of canned homemade vegetable stock. I always save the tops to make another quick batch of stock whenever there is a good supply of stock vegetables available from the garden or HWFC.

When the carrots are a few inches long and some potatoes are ready to eat, we’ll have another round of roasted veggies—quick, easy, and great weeknight choice.

Below are recipes for carrots and potatoes from your garden or HWFC’s extraordinary Produce Department.

I’ve been looking forward to using the lovely rosemary plant I found in the Plants Department the last time I shopped at HWFC, so that will be my herb choice for tonight. Carrot Soup

3 cups thinly sliced carrots 2 Tbsp. chopped onion or shallots 1/3 cup basmati rice 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

(can substitute non-dairy butter) 1 quart vegetable stock

•Rinse basmati rice and cook in 2/3 cup water until done (about 20’); set aside. •While rice is cooking, add chopped onion or shallots to carrots. Cook with 3 Tbsp. butter and pinch of salt and sugar in a covered saucepan over medium low heat for about 15'. •When vegetables are tender, add stock and bring to a simmer. •When rice is completely cooked add it to carrot mix and simmer for a just a minute or two. •Remove soup from heat and allow to cool enough to run through a blender, food processor, or food mill. •Reheat and stir in remaining butter (yes, there’s a lot of butter in this soup). •Add fresh herbs &or croutons to serve.

Roasted Carrots and Potatoes

(no set ingredient amounts) • Carrots • Potatoes • Olive oil • Cumin, paprika, or other favorite spice • Rosemary or other herbs • Salt/pepper • Line a sheet pan with parchment; preheat oven to 400° F. • Remove carrot tops and store in refrigerator for stock. • Scrub carrots and potatoes, and please don’t peel them. • Slice carrots vertically; cut potatoes to a similar size. • Gently toss the vegetables with olive oil in a large mixing bowl; add spices. To enhance sweetness of carrots you could also add maple syrup or honey to the mix. • Place vegetables in the pan in a single layer and roast for about 15 minutes. • Add chopped herbs of your choosing and gently toss once more. • Return the tray to the oven and continue roasting for another 10–15 minutes.