7/21/11 HOT POTATOES

ANTIGO PARKS AND FORESTRY DIRECTOR

WELCOME SHADE ON A BRUTALLY HOT DAY

POTATO FIELD IN BLOOM

POTATO FLOWERS

WHEAT READY TO HARVEST

Thursday, 7:45 AM.  70.5 degrees, wind SW, light at present.  The sky is clear and there is less haze.  It was brutally hot and humid yesterday, even near the lake, and we were very glad to have an air conditioned vehicle for our trip to the forestry meeting in Antigo.  Hopefully today will be more comfortable.
    We found Antgo to be a nice, well kept community and their forestry and parks programs, led by Sarah, a young professional woman, very impressive.  The meeting was well worth the 400 mile round trip.
    Antigo was, and is still, known for its potato farms.  The flat, well drained, sandy  soil and ample irrigation water create ideal conditions for growing potatoes on a large scale.  The potato is of course a major source of food in many countries and cultures and originated in South America and has spread in cultivation throughout the temperate regions of the world in the past 500 or so years.  Almost everyone knows the story of the potato so I won’t repeat it, but unless one is a gardener and grows them most are not familiar with the plant itself.  Potato, Solanum tuberosum,  is in the nightshade family (Solonaceae) along with the tomato, egg plant and a few other edible plants.. However, the family also has many poisonous plants. In fact, the potato tuber is poisonous to a degree if it is not stored in the dark and begins to turn green The potato flower is quite attractive and looks like an egg plant flower, and a hundred acre field of potatoes is quite a sight when in bloom.  The flower has an earthy fragrance, almost like the potato tuber itself. Winter wheat was ready to be harvested near Antigo, and rye almost ripe. 
    We had the pleasure of having dinner Tuesday  night with old, old friends Bill and Emmy who now live in Mountain, about an hour east of Antigo.