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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Potatoes Are Ready!

In May I planted potatoes.  It was the last possible planting time for them in our area, but I thought I'd give it a try.  Now, I've never grown potatoes before, so I really didn't know what I was doing.  Several friends offered various ways to grow them, so I tried them all.  A few, I just dropped in the ground and covered with dirt.  Others, I laid a bed of straw and dropped the potato on top, then covered it with dirt.  The last way, I dug a hole, and layered dirt and straw, and dropped the potato on top.  Which method worked best?  Just plain old dirt.  Now, we did add a lot of really nice compost we got from a local farm that specializes in it, and plenty of powdered lime.  (next year we will also add pellet lime since it releases slowly over time).  Because of this, the ground was nice and crumbly, so it made getting these potatoes out easy.  Here is what I have harvested so far!

Now, these are small red Pontiac potatoes, I know, some of them are really small, but that's because I planted them at the very end of the season. Last night I boiled them, skins on, then mashed them and added butter and a bit of evaporated milk.  They were amazing, they were super creamy!  I had been told that home grown potatoes tasted better than store bought, oh my, it is so true!!  They have a much smoother texture, definitely not as starchy, and a slight sweet taste.  I will definitely be planting potatoes again!! I'll just get them in earlier to increase the yield next year!!
Have you planted potatoes?  If so, tell me about it, do you have any tips or tricks to increase the size and yield?  I'd love to know!
Melissa

toolsareforwomentoo

3 comments:

  1. Very nice Mel! Glad you got a good crop.

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  2. My city slicker niece continues to amaze me! LM

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  3. City slicker huh? I guess that would've fit 8 years ago, but before that I was a country girl! Actually, I love being a country girl, as long as I have the convenience of city nearby! I guess now, technically I am a townie! Anyhow, I love it!

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