We harvested the rest of the potato beds out from today. These are a mix of yukon gold and pontiac reds. We also hauled out some burbank russets and some banana fingerlings--about 10 gallons in all from three 10-foot rows.
Jess contributed small hands and good eyesight while I did the heavy spading. The sod that is underneath the dirt has really started to rot nicely and I expect we could plant carrots out here next year without any trouble. Just a matter of smoothing out the rows and maybe dropping some lime and bone meal in.
The processing job is mostly done. I'm going to let the potatoes dry overnight before sorting them into keepers and users and next year's seed. Very little rust on these (the yukon gold are particularly free of spots) so mostly looking for size and shape.
While there are still some beets and carrots out back (and maybe even some more potatoes behind the garage--arrrgh), I'm too bushed to deal with them today. The weather looks good next weekend so they can wait some more. A bike ride and a hike through the valley are in order while the leaves are still pretty.
I see we also have tomatoes to process again. I wonder if i can sub this job out to the girl? I should probably also empty the rain barrel before things get too cold!
Oh man, we are doing the same things exactly! I am sick of tomatoes but grateful for them if you know what I mean... Think I only have one more batch to roast and can.
ReplyDeleteWe have only just started to dig the spuds. Gosh, it will be a busy week getting them out of the ground. I do the spading/forking and my kids do the spotting lifting as well! Saves me bending over 500 times in the space of an hour and is much faster.
I'm impressed with how our sod has rotted, too. There's a LOT of worms working under the mulch to turn that flipped sod into black gold. It will all be gorgeous soil come spring planting, I think!
Good luck with the digging--I have finally moved all the potatoes off the dining room table and into the basement. Potato soup tonight. Tomatoes appear to be done to a manageable number to eat fresh. Onto the beets and carrots!
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