Harvested our first potatoes this week. I dug out 5 or 6. One went to a neighbour, one went to a friend who pulled in the driveway just as I pulled them out (2 more minutes and I'd have had them safe in the house) and I boiled the rest for us. Oh my L-rd! They were so lovely and creamy and had that inexplicably indescribably good fresh taste that only gardeners get to know. No cream, no butter, no olive oil or garlic, just boiled potatoe. Even my picky pain in @#%^$ 10 year old daughter was impressed. Hubby around a mouthful enquired as to my plans for planting corn and maybe a few other things that would be nice. This is the dear soul who has been making nasty remarks about my "obsession" and my "$30 tomatoes" all spring. Yeah, but he sure didn't mind the homegrown broccoli and cauliflower we had the other week did he? I think I'm going to plant a lot more potatoes next year and some sweet potatoes too.
Oh Mummy WOW!!!!!! Just got our first potatoes!
There's nothing like a homegrown potato! Anyone who disagrees has never eaten one straight from the garden or compared the store bought (that has been sitting in storage for who knows how long) with a fresh dug potato. The fun of digging up those hidden treasures buried under the ground is a simple pleasure that can't be beat. It's always a mystery and a surprise to see how many potatoes there will be and how big or small. Just like a box of chocolates, "you never know what you're going to get". : )
OK so I haven't harvested any potatoes just yet, but I hope to get some small ones soon. I'm a little concerned though, because my plants don't look very good. I think the eaves trough has been overflowing onto the plants, so they are a little beaten up. Hopefully they're ok... I'll post a pic tomorrow. Time to get the ladder out for those eaves troughs lol!
Mine look horrible! They just all of a sudden started looking miserable. I thought they might have the blight, but when I checked the potatoes they were great. I think I'm going to just harvest the whole group in a couple weeks just incase
oohhhh I never even thought of blight. oh no. I will have to check them when I get home from work! I forgot to take a pic this morning, but maybe I'll remember to post one later.
How do you store your potatoes after harvesting them?
When we harvest, DH likes to gently wash the mud off and sort out any with cuts or bugs to eat right away. Then we lay them out on a garage counter on newspaper and cover with newspaper to let them dry out of the sunlight. When they are dry, I store in plastic boxes with holes in it, or wooden hampers, and cover with tea towels to keep light out. Keeping in a cold room will let them last most of the winter.