Here's how quickly the summer is flying by: Idle Hands Ranch, which specializes in organically raised potatoes, made its first appearance at the Mill City Farmers Market last Saturday.

The Arland, Wis., farm, owned by brothers Jojo and Charles Jones and their spouses Lu and Jill, is a part-time endeavor; the two couples live in the Twin Cities and have been making the 80-mile commute a few days a week for the past four years. Two-thirds of their farm's three cultivated acres are devoted to potatoes, 20 varieties in all, planted and harvested by hand. "Every kind of potato under the sun," said Jojo Jones. "Which explains why my back hurts."

Not that he's complaining. "It's what we do for fun," he said. "We like to feed people."

Why potatoes? "It's what the land wants us to do," explained Charles Jones. "It's a perfect combination of terrain and climate and the right kind of soil. This land makes the most perfect potatoes. Just look at the results."

No kidding. Saturday's stand boasted two smooth-skinned, early season varieties: Red Norlands and Yukon Golds. Although they were being touted as "staple potatoes," both were definitely attention-grabbers. Back at home, the former quickly became a sturdy and colorful salad foundation, the latter roasted out to a tender, buttery treat.

If all goes according to plan, this weekend's selection should expand to include slender fingerlings and All Blues, which radiate an intense purple, inside and out. But there are no guarantees. "It's still early," said Jojo Jones. "We're going to have to ask Mother Nature to hurry up."

RICK NELSON

Potatoes ($2 per pound) at Idle Hands Ranch at the Mill City Farmers Market, 2nd St. and Chicago Av. S., Mpls., www.millcityfarmersmarket.org. Open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. For potato recipes -- and a listing of this weekend's farmers market events -- go to www.startribune.com/tabletalk. For a map of Twin Cities metro-area farmers markets, go to www.startribune.com/taste.