They grew fine for a while, then looked horrible in the heavy rains of spring. But the other day, I did an experimental dig near one corner of the bed, and came out with a purple potato the size of my fist, just right for part of a casserole. Hooray! Could there be more?
Today I found out that there were more! Almost four pounds of lovely thoroughly purple potatoes. The big ones were roasted tonight, and I think those little ones might enjoy being planted out in an empty bed, starting the cycle all over again.
The rest are going to have to wait a bit -- I'm not ready to harvest and process a lot of potatoes right now. Have to clean the basement and reorganize a bit. Some is still awash in garlic or shallots, and the empty jam and tomato jars are in need of restacking, plus the bee equipment could use a nice straighten. I'm sure I'll have time to do it all really soon.
Hahahahahaha.
11 comments:
How awesome! Really glad you decided to try them again. My potatoes are already done for the season... I found larger buckets on clearance (the same ones that Thomas from A Growing Tradition is using), and am going to give them a shot this fall/winter...
Don't you just love surprises like that! I suspect that the potatoes will keep just fine in the ground while you tidy up the basement. LOL Yeah, and I have a garage to tidy up . . .
Very nice! Good thing there always is a new season to try things again.
WoohoO! Glad they worked for you.
What a wonderful surprise! I guess you should never give up. They look really good too. I am sure the rest will keep fine in the ground until you are ready to dig them up.
Congrats! I had potato cages that performed really well last year, so I did it again this year with even more... and got WAY LESS! I will finally bite the bullet next year and grow them in-ground! Good job!
Uncovered purple treasure, eh? Fantastic find. I know you'll be eating these, but what I want to know is how do you store them? I can't seem to find the proper location in my house.
Momma_S, I am really glad! According to my local gardening book, I can get another crop in if I plant soon. More spuds! I hope your buckets work out.
michelle, yes, the garden has enough of the other kind of surprises. I like this one. Maybe we should organize together. . .
Dan, it's one of the best things about gardening, that ongoing fresh start.
Ribbit, yws!
GrafixMuse, maybe they just love this bed. Or regular water. Or something.
Erin, oh no. My above ground thing didn't work at all, so this is really a first harvest. I can hardly wait to see the rest. Do you have room for in-ground stuff?
Kristin, I bet the basement. It's the only consistently cool and dark area. It's not perfect, though, and I don't know about getting the humidity up high enough. Why don't you guys dig a root cellar into the hill?
No, there's no room for potatoes in the ground here - but I haven't let that stop me before LOL!
Good for you, that's a nice harvest of potatoes. I love that you are brave enough to grow and eat the purple ones...my favorites. Purple is a very scary food color you know.:)
Congratulations on your potatoes! I might just have to try again next year...
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