Until today we've been harvesting potatoes on an as-needed basis. We head out with our dirty garden shoes on, with or without our gloves, and find a plant that is close to done or all done. We've been digging up supper, or a gift for a friend, or some for a soup for later. We seem to have an unending supply, and we haven't been very thorough or careful thus far.
According to my planting and harvesting guide, the baby potatoes are best eaten the day they are dug. For potatoes that are to be stored and eaten months later, the best practice is to dig them, then allow them to cure in the field for 2 or 3 days. So this afternoon we started the process of harvesting some of the potatoes which we will store and eat this fall and winter. We moved from plant to plant, brushing off loose and not-so-loose dirt, and piling our booty in the dirt behind us.
We have probably dug up about a third of the potatoes so far. I think we have enough time to wait to harvest the rest, since we aren't in danger of frost too soon. The issue here is more likely to be heavy rain. I think we'll want to have most of them dug by the end of the month, and we may have to cure them in the garage so they won't get rained on. I ended up putting today's haul in a container because I was worried about animals. Mostly the neighborhood cats, who have been using patch as a litter box here and there. Would hate to come back to the pile and find some cat had marked it as theirs.
The potatoes have been a very fun and easy experiment. I highly recommend it for its high yield in delicious food, for very little investment of time and effort.
Adelaide discovered some creatures living in among the plants.
Not a huge crop, but enough for a lot of yummy meals and some to share. Adelaide selected 4 of the biggest spuds to give to her teacher for a birthday present.
Tonight we'll roast up these. Dinner from the backyard!
Adelaide asked if she could make a fruit salad and wash the potatoes while I took my shower. When I returned to the kitchen she had decided on the full menu, and asked only that I prepare the potatoes since it required the oven. I was pretty excited to have dinner made for me, and I readily agreed.
They need a week or two of warm, light, and air and they will be ready to plant. Adelaide and I will put the finishing touches on the garden and then during spring break, we can plant! This year we will most likely put the potatoes in the raised beds and east side yard, as the west side needs one more year off before we grow potatoes there again.
(onion, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, seafood seasoning blend, carrots, celery, orange pepper, 4 kinds of heirloom tomatoes, crab and mussels, with some quark to top it off), and rainbow potato gratin (the heirloom spuds pictured yesterday, sliced thinly and layered with carmelized onions, milk, seasonings and quark and baked all afternoon).
At the Phinney Ridge Farmer's Market yesterday, Adelaide and I got to partake in a fun twist on local food: zucchini car races. Kids were given the raw materials to build a vehicle and a ramp with lanes to race on. After we got home, loaded up with berries and peppers and a whole stroller full of beautiful veggies and fruit, Adelaide added a slick paint job to the cars. The wheels go on with a bead (inside) and a nail, in case you'd like to try this at home.
I wish I had thought to take a picture of the soup, but it was too delicious to pause for photos. We added some spinach, onions, gnocchi, and Quorn (faux chicken) to make a creamy but not too heavy soup. I made a roux to thicken it and also blended about 1/4 of the potatoes with the broth and added it back in. I wished I had some fresh thyme but will save that for next time. I foresee many potato based meals in the coming months.
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