Potatoes and Printing — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

Image courtesy of my talented pal Lisa Coris. This is the Healy Pass, just up the road from my in-laws.

I’m jumping the gun on St. Patrick’s Day here, but this is my first year as a new Irish citizen (courtesy of my husband), so next week has special significance.

While other people mark the day with plastic hats and green beer, I’ve recently learned that many gardeners mark the holiday by planting potatoes. That's because in Ireland, the soil is finally warm enough to sow seed potatoes — a fancy name for small potatoes with a sprouting eye.

Potatoes are dead easy to grow, and no other crop delivers the same sense of mystery and satisfaction. When you dig into the soil and unearth a crop of potatoes, I promise that you’ll feel like you're five years old again and just found the prize at the end of a treasure hunt.



My dad grew potatoes when I was little, and my sisters and I can still summon up all the sentimentality and smells of that experience. Hopefully we'll pass that onto the next generation: My niece helped me tend our potato patch last year, and this fall, she dug up her very first crop.

If gardening isn't for you, consider that potatoes aren’t just food — they make a great craft material, especially in the hands of someone as talented as Lotta Jansdotter, who shows us how to print with a sweet potato right here.



Thanks, Gabrielle, for having me as a Guest Aunt this week. And thanks to everyone who took the time to write — you’ve been wonderful and encouraging, and it's been great to be in your company!