Preserving

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Potatoes Potatoes.... there's something going on with my Potatoes!

I just went out to look at the potatoes here at the house. They haven't been looking like they should. The flowers looked like they were eaten and the leaves were turning yellow and dying. It did not look good so I decided that I better pull them out. I have such a fear of the Big B since we had it here two years ago!

I planted the Yukon Golds and some of the Sagre Reds here at the house. The balance of the Sagres and the Kennebecs were planted at the plots.

I have no idea what happened to them, but happy that I pulled them. When I took the straw off there were thousands of pill bugs! I also found that the seed potato was rotting and the stalk of the plants were mussy and hollow. I took all of the plants and straw from this bed and put it in bags. These will be put out for the garbage man! I am not going to take a chance of infesting my garden with any disease!

The Yukon Gold harvest was not that bad. I planted 2.5 lbs and the harvest was 7 lbs. It really should have been between 10 - 12lbs. The Sagre Reds however were just tiny little new potatoes. The harvest weight from them was only 1 lb. Hopefully the reds at the plots will do better.

Here they are....the Yukon Golds and some of the Sagre Reds!

I'm not all that disappointed after what happened last year with the voles! Last year due to the vole invasion my total potato harvest was 6 lbs. This year, with less then half of the potatoes harvested we are at 9 lbs. Although we love potatoes, we really don't eat many...gotta watch my weight!

20 comments:

  1. Good you got rid of all the ingrediants in that bed. I had to do that with some Pears that had and orange dust on them..anything that didn't look whole got picked and thrown in the garbage...
    My potatoes were small too! but it's the first time we planted a crop in a certain spot..So they weren't too bad.

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  2. We aren't big potato eaters either, but now that I have so many in the garden we might have to be.

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  3. Not a good year for potatoes in PA, that is for sure. I have been out of potatoes for months and my crop went in late due to the first one rotting, so just looking at yours is making me drool.

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  4. We eat a lot of potatoes here. I'd be heartbroken if I lost a crop. Not that I have a crop to lose this year :-(

    With all of those small ones, you should boil up a pot of salt potatoes!

    http://www.food.com/recipe/baby-red-salt-potatoes-113564

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  5. Ginny, Most of the Yukon Golds were a good size with the exception of about 18. The reds were small. I'm hoping to get enough when I harves the ones at the plots

    Daphne, We really love potatoes but we really have to stay away from too many carbs. Anymore, I gain weight just looking at them!

    Jane, I usually harvest my early potatoes around the middle of July. So they really should have been in the ground for a couple of more weeks.

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  6. Granny, we love the small reds with "The Italian's" special seasoning or roasted with fresh herbs....yum! I'm hoping for at least 15 lbs from the potatoes at the plots...keep your fingers crossed for me!!

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  7. The harvest may not have been what you hoped for, but it looks delicious! Pass the butter!!

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  8. Oh no! But your crop still looks pretty good. I like the little red ones, they look like lovely little new potatoes :)

    ali

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  9. I shudder to even think of the Big B. At least you got some in time and didn't wait for the bugs to get them all. Good thinking!

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  10. Sue, the harvest of the potatoes wasn't all that bad. I agree...butter..yum!

    Ali, The red ones will be great new potatoes. I'm sure that we will enjoy ever bite!

    APGal, I am so paranoid of the Big B since we all got it three years ago....I can't even say the word!

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  11. Well, at least the ones you got are beautiful - butter and salt, yum! We are all dealing with one catastrophe or another, I sure hope next year is better!

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  12. Nice work. Your the gardener on patrol. I'm glad you had a better harvest this year than last.

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  13. ""The Italian's" special seasoning" So are you going to share or did I miss a post somewhere? :-)

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  14. Picture is a little deceiving. Those red potatoes look like they could be plum size and the yukons look like they could be baseball size. Some is better than none. Enjoy!

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  15. I'm glad that you were able to salvage a harvest this time around. Last year, I lost 60% of my crop to voles as well. It's just soo sad when that happens.

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  16. Erin, You got that right!! I found leaf spot on some of my tomatoes at the plots last night!

    Thanks Jody, Last year was a complete failure.

    Liisa, I'll have to post that special seasoning the next time he makes potatoes using it.

    johanna, I should have put something next to the potatoes to judge the size. The yukons were a good size probably about the size of a baseball. Only a few of the reds were plum size.

    Thomas, It's better then last year..for sure. I still have the potatoes at the plots to harvest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

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  17. Good salvage work. I am ready for our new crop of potatoes but I have a few weeks before I will start stealing young potatoes from the plants. Everything was so late this year that the potatoes are about 2 weeks behind typical schedules. I do not use organic mulch in my garden (like straw) anymore because we have serious slug problems in the maritime pacific northwest and straw is a safe home for all those varmints to live and retreat to (cool and moist - just what they like). So we do not do that. Instead I incorporate LOTS of organic matter in the fall and let it decompose over the winter.

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  18. You seem to have managed to salvage a reasonable haul.

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  19. Laura, In the past I have had very good luck growing my potatoes in straw...with the exception of my experiment last year with the bags and the great vole invasion. Maybe next year I should try some with straw and hill some.

    Sue, I think that it was a good save!

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  20. Looks like a very nice harvest to me.:)

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