Juicing potatoes (hard veggies)

[Pengyou]

I am reading and researching now on veggie juices, juicers and hydroponics. My goal (dream) is to turn my balcony (with about 25 sq. ft of shelf surface space without additional shelving or cabinets) into a veggie patch that will provide 100% of my green leafies, sprouts, grasses...and then who knows what? Part of the reason for my work on the balcony is to find small footprint solutions to maximize yield on minimal space. I hope, within 2 or 3 years, to have a whole room devoted to this, that will make me veggie-self sufficent.

I want to get a masticating juicer for grasses and sprouts. How well do these do on hard veggies like beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes? I have a kitchen-aid mixer with an attachment to grind meats - it is a masticating device. Has anyone tried theirs on grasses and sprouts? Most of my juicing, at first, is going to be grasses, sprouts and veggies. I try to eat my fruits whole, or pureed, but I have been drinking a variety of teas lately that have fruit juice in them, and..yum!

I have read a lot of websites but I am not sure who to believe. It seems that many sites are associated with the sale of one device or another :(

I would prefer to get one juicer, but if there is sufficient benefit I would consider getting a masticating and a reciprocating - blender type. Also, does anyone use one of the hand grinders? That might be nice to have in a power failure.

[michigan roman]

ive seen so many folks into raw / juicing longer than me over the years say buy a used juicer off craigslist to see how you like . but i didnt listen and have gone through two centrifugals , a champion , a omega 8005 .
and havent been content with any of them . the centrfifugals spin too fast frothing up the juices , so does champion . and the masticating omega isnt good for soft stuff turning it to sauce rather than juice .
thing that looks like it might be good for everything but a pain to clean is green star twin gear , but i wont pop the 500 . and if i didnt fast i wouldnt get juicer in first place as im content with all the nutrients i get from raw vegan diet of huge salads every niteand fruits when in season . but i believe in fasting as habit so the juicer quest goes on . im currently hunting a greenstar or angel on craiglist . if i bought now ide buy the zstar manual juicer at link , its excellent for greens including wheatgrass , check out the reveiws . and if i bought a cenntrifugal itd be the breville one at 150 at bedbathbeyond , ide use 20 % off coupon getting it for 120 . link http://www.amazon.com/Z-Star-Manual-Portable-Wheatgrass-Juicer/dp/B0007W04AW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330835585&sr=8-1

[michigan roman]

video of greenstar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCQedXVThI

[michigan roman]

at link john kohler whom i trust to speak truth and not just try to push stuff demonstrates the popular omega 8005 series juicer so you can get a sense of how they work .
i recently bought this , a very sturdt built machine that does greens / hard stuff great . but turns soft stuff to sauce not juice . other down side is as youll see in video is that chute is too low to table top making it so have to use small bowls which fill up with juice or pulp very quickly making it so your consytantly emptying them whicvh is a hassle as your spilling stuff all over . its a very well built machine but its not perfect . same with the very very very sturdily built commercial chammpion i bought . and im not going to pay 200 / 300 for juicers that arent sturdy / efficient and make good juice . ide rather use a hand masher / big pot / nylon mesh bag and make excellent tasting non frothed juices by hand . link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-dAC1Ul_zM

[MysticTree]

I too trust John Kohler when it comes to juicer testing.