Potato bumper crop
On Friday we dug the last 5 beds of potatoes. These “Masquerade” potatoes have a two-tone yellow and purple skin and buttery yellow interior like a Yukon Gold. I was worried that with all the rain we had, they might have rotted in the ground. Happily, we found an abundance of potatoes. Perhaps even the most productive potato planting we have ever had. We’ll never know for sure, because keeping meticulous yield records is not my strong suit. Each plant gave us about two pounds of potatoes. Given that each plant grows from 2 ounces of seed potato, give or take, this is a 16 fold increase. Are you impressed yet? Because I am really impressed! And before you ask what I did differently this year to reap such an impressive potato harvest the answer is nothing. We did the same thing we always do, at the same time, with the same varieties. It was just a good year for this potato.
Carrots go bust
What hasn’t fared as well in all the rain are the carrots. This morning we dug a bed of carrots as there are a couple beds still out in the field. We tossed about half of them out with damage in the field as we were picking, and unfortunately after washing them we graded out another half. It’s not worth our time to harvest the rest of the carrots in the field, so we will be discing them in. Fortunately, we get to try it all over again with the fall carrots, which we seed in August. It was just too much time in wet soil for them. You win some, you lose some.
Filling up the Greenhouse
We are busy filling up the greenhouse again with our fall brassicas. Today we seeded kale, collards, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli in seed trays in the greenhouse. Last week we started kolhrabi and cabbage. When it is so hot out, it is hard to believe that the summer will ever end. It seems too early to start planting for fall. Which is why I follow my planting calendar so carefully. I have spent years fine tuning my fall planting plan to try to make sure our crops have time to mature before it gets cold enough to damage them. Fingers crossed today is the right day for this year. Because every year is different, and we wont know how until it happens.
Small Shares
- Masquerade Potato
- Yellow squash
- Slicing tomato
- Yellow onions
- Magic Bullet plum tomato
- Bell Pepper
Full Shares
- Masquerade Potato
- Yellow squash
- Slicing tomato x2
- Cucumber
- Juliet plum tomato
- Eggplant
You must be logged in to post a comment.