O f all the treasures of the Incas, the potato, Solanum tuberosum, was the most maligned, mistrusted, yet precious, import to Europe via the Spanish conquistadors. I'm not sure what happened to all the gold they pilfered, but their potato legacy is still with us. Potatoes are a nutritional gold mine, containing, among other things, enough vitamin C to have served as an antiscorbutic on board Spanish galleons. Potatoes yield more per area than most crops. The color of potato skins changes slightly depending on the minerals in the soil.
Potatoes are a rewarding crop to grow.
They produce one of the highest yields per area planted of all food crops. And, in addition to vitamin C, they are high in potassium and iron, low in calories, and serve up a good dose of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. If you had to live on potatoes and milk, you might get bored with the food, but your diet would be adequate. To top it off, potatoes are good-looking plants with gorgeous flowers. Newly dug potatoes fall like precious stones into my harvesting basket.