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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Fruits (and Roots) of Our Labor

Although unruly, our tomato plants are big producers.  We've been filling several bowls every few days with tomatoes, which is amazing as my kids are off-the-vine tomato eaters - they even eat the roma tomatoes like apples.  And the little grape tomatoes are splendid.


We made our first batch of salsa with the homegrown tomatoes over the weekend, along with peppers, garlic, and onions from the farmers market.  I had to check out several stands before finding the peppers; many of our farmers have had substantial crop loss due to the unusually wet summer.  Growing potatoes in pots this year is what likely allowed us to harvest potatoes at all.

Chester the neighborhood cat checks on the progress of the potato pot harvest

We harvested just over twelve pounds of potatoes.  To increase future yields I'll plant the same quantity, but in more pots.  I think our plants would have enjoyed more space (or volume...).  The potatoes we harvested look nice with purple skins and very light purple flesh, and they have a nice flavor that is somewhat different than the varieties we commonly see.





 

4 comments:

  1. BEAUTIFUL! I may have missed it in earlier posts, but what's the soil source for your potato pots? Bagged, home made or other? I ask only because our horse/compost maker is likely moving to another state early next year and I'll likely have to switch how I do things. The pots seem like a great idea.

    Well done! *drool*

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    1. Hi Barry - my wife informed me that, originally, the pots simply had potting soil in them. We've had those pots for several years and until this year they were for lilies and orchids. Each year we amended the soil with compost. I guess the short answer to your question is "other," because any benefit from potting soil must have been long depleted. The potato plant flowers nicely, in my opinion, so the plants were still ornamental, but with goodness growing in the soil. Cheers!

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    2. Thanks! Have to see if I can get myself back into it a little bit next year. I like the way you are doing things. I've been so focused on camping and hiking this year everything else suffered. But I am happy, so that's good, right?

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  2. Cool potatoes! We've started eating our potatoes, but have not pulled any of the All Blues, yet. No signs of red tomatoes or peppers here yet...but your spread looks AWESOME.

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