By Obiabin Onukwugha
Potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas and Nigeria and is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes
Potatoes come handy for families when in need for low-cost breakfast, lunch or dinner. Potatoes are also good for weight loss and is a preferred food for vegetarians.
This staple food can be eaten as porridge, marched, pepper soup or with gravy. It can also be cooked with beans as an alternative for ripe plantain because of it sweet taste. Furthermore, potatoes are fried and eaten with sauce.
Potatoes takes about three months to mature for harvest, and depending on the variety you plant, your harvest season could last several months.
Potatoes therefore can be readily used to cushion hunger and the economic hardship bites harder if cultivated.
But you will be growing a healthy crop of potatoes if you plant them with carefully selected companion plants that will enhance their flavor and help them grow without the threat of disease or pests.
Crops companion planting involves strategically placing two or more plants next to each other that will offer benefits including adding nutrients into the soil, repelling pests, and creating the right environment for a more flavorful crop. Often, two companion plants will require the same growing conditions such as light, soil, water, but they’ll thrive based on different nutrients.
For potatoes, the best companion plants are often those that grow with shallow root systems. These won’t disturb the deep roots of potatoes. They are spinach, garlic, beans, cabbage, lettuce, basil, amongst others.
So, whether at your garden, backyard or farmland, planting potatoes will add to your food security.
Encouraging youths who are agriculture inclined to take up potato planting is a great deal for earning money and contributing to food availability for millions of people.