US: little potatoes a big success

While searching for dinner ideas at the Marin County Civic Center farmers' market recently, I stumbled upon the stall for Little Organic Farms and found my inspiration in the boxes of German Butterballs, Ozette fingerlings and Peruvian Blue potatoes.

In my pre-California life, I knew of only two potatoes -- russets in plastic bags, and those "fancy" red potatoes. Now, thanks to farmers like David Little, my relationship with potatoes has changed.

A third-generation Marin County resident, Little went from construction to farming 10 years ago after helping a friend on his ranch. He simply fell in love with the process of growing.

Love or not, the road wasn't easy. A few tough years had him doubting his decision, but Little persevered. What's made it worthwhile, he says, is "laughing and sharing with my customers at the farmers' market, seeing the creativity of chefs using my products and the spectacular awesomeness of working in nature." Little Organic Farm produces about 20 potato varieties, including huckleberry, Purple Vikings, Carolas and Russian Banana Fingerlings.

Little's purple-fleshed potatoes make an eye-appealing fluffy mash, roasted fingerlings add playful shapes to a dinner plate, yellow-fleshed German Butterballs, as the name implies, supply a rich, buttery flavor to all of its versatile preparations.

He likes the white-fleshed medium-starch Kennebecs for french fries, and Yellow Finns in a warm potato salad.

The farmer tests new kinds of potatoes, as well as other crops such as tomatoes and strawberries, in an experimental plot at his home in Tomales. But his commercial acreage is on five leased ranches, each unique in climate and soil, throughout western Marin and Sonoma counties.

All of the ranches are certified organic, which Little believes is important, but he also values sustainability. "We have a responsibility to be conscientious of other farmers and practices that protect the land," Little says.

Little's potatoes are dry farmed, which means that the soil's natural moisture provides the crop's water supply. After the spring rains, the land is turned and rolled over to form a seal, trapping in moisture. The result is potatoes with rich, intense flavor, undiluted by excess watering.

Although challenging, one advantage of being a smaller farm according to Little is this "hands-on" approach. Because the crops get more attention, Little says, they taste better.

In keeping with his philosophy, Little donates some of his harvest to Sonoma County's Committee on the Shelterless for the program's Petaluma Kitchen and Food for Families grocery service.

"Our potatoes feed a diversity of people, from the homeless in soup kitchens to the guests of great restaurants," Little says.

Those restaurants include Greens and Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, and Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, where Little's produce has been part the portfolio of local, sustainable purveyors for years, outlasting six chefs.

Joking that he "inherited the potatoes," Lark Creek chef Michael Otsuka believes that Little's farming methods increase the "expression of character in the potatoes and maximize the flavor."

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