Monday, March 30, 2009

Surprise!

So I was looking at my potato plants this morning, and because I'm a rookie gardener I had the following conversation with myself (you do it to!):

"Hmmm..what's up with these potatoes? Every veteran gardener I've read says that your potatoes are done when they've been flowering for a couple weeks.....jeesh, mine haven't even flowered at all. It's been almost 3 months, what's the problem?!... Hmmm.....I know I screwed something up.....man, I need this space for corn.....soon! .....uuuggghhh...I suck!...Was it too much water? ....... Not enough?......hhmmm.........Maybe it's getting too hot......dang Florida, I knew I should have planted them earlier! If I still lived in New England I wouldn't have this problem...........hhmmmm...... Maybe I shouldn't have used the top soil from the woods......I bet it had diseases in it!.............Wait a minute.....I read somewhere where you can dig down next to the plants and pull one potato out without hurting the plant........hhmmm....let me give it try."

So I stuck my hand right into the dirt and started to feel around (which is awesome fun for a 12 year old stuck in a 40 year old body!) .........and.......what ..........wait .........what's that? Well look what I found:

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My first potato harvest. The ones pictured are Purple Viking & Red Potamac. I had my youngest daughter help me, and I love the picture with her dirty hands holding the potatoes she picked. Awesome!



Oh yeah......................... they were delicious!

31 comments:

  1. Ooo, incredible! I've never seen purple potatoes, I hope they taste as delicious as they look!

    Good job, Dennis! :)

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  2. Dennis, I know exactly what you mean by the - I need this space for corn - lament. My grand potato experiment started on Oct 25th. I think they will be ready in two weeks (they better be!) I should have started earlier. I'm in Bermuda. My conditions are somewhat similar to yours (so I fully understand your frustration).

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  3. Way to go Dennis!! Nope, you are not the only one that has those silly gardening conversations with yourself!!!

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  4. Silvia- They were very tasty....I would say they were more tender with an increased creamy/sweet flavor.....just awesome! I am amazed how much better garden veggies tast over store bought. I knew tomatoes tasted better but everything else I figured tasted the same.......I was wrong.

    By the way......that wooden bowl holding my 1st potato harvest.....I got it in Romania.

    Prospero- So you're from Bermuda?! Is that the 51st state? lolol...just kidding. So have you dug down to see if you have any potatoes yet? I looked at your blog and it looks like you planted about 1,000 potatoes!

    Darla- I knew it. lol!

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  5. Those purple potatoes are cool, they are the ones with the white interior right? I am growing Russets & Fingerling potatoes in a bin this year. Maybe next season I will try out these Purple Viking's.

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  6. Yum - mashed potatoes! Didn't even know you could grow those down here. Here is a link about a space saving way to grow potatoes you might want to try: http://tinyurl.com/dlyq3u

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  7. I have had weird things happen with potatoes. One year I thought that they were a total loss--plants looked pathetic and never flowered. Guess what--MEGA potatoes. Then I had a year when I had huge plants and only a so-so harvest. I haven't figured them out. Going to try again this year, though! I'll be planting in a few weeks. :)

    They look great! I LOVE reds! And I know exactly the flavor you're talking about!

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  8. Very cool. And a great lesson for the children.

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  9. Dan- Yep...they have the white interior....and taste awesome. If I can do a good job of harvesting & then saving, maybe I can send you a couple.

    WG- I've seen the tire system before.....but I'm not short on room, plus......tires don't excite me.

    April- I notice you're having writers block again! lol. The taste is so much better that potatoes have just risen to #2 in my homegrown veggie rankings, which means somebody's getting kicked to the curb! (probably cabbage)

    SG- I was thinking the same thing as I watched her digging around looking for a treasure.

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  10. All the good things came from Romania!! :))

    I know for sure that every veggie taste different from the store. My mother made a veggie garden 2 years ago and last year my daughter learned the real taste of all veggies (she had 6 months in august 2008). Organic, of course.

    It's incredible!

    PS: in Romania, as you may know, the organic veggie garden is a common type of garden. Everybody has an organic garden. We eat very healthy!

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  11. Silvia- Yes, I ate lots of veggies from Romanian gardens......tomatoes, potatoes and my favorite....cherries from cherry trees!

    http://theconservativegardener.blogspot.com/

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  12. Dennis, have you thought about canning your potatoes or do you not have that many? They look awesome! VN8

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  13. VN8- I haven't thought about canning them yet......I still haven't fully harvested them yet so I don't know how many I'll have. I mean they're potatoes so I know they store for awhile, plus I want to save some for seeds to plant in Aug/Sept. IDK...we'll see. They do look awesome......everybody seems to really like the purple ones and I have to admit......they taste the best!

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  14. I assumed all gardeners talked to themselves. I don't even mind the voices that talk back anymore! Great job on the potatoes. Before I started reading I thought that Purple Viking was a beet. Very cool. I'm going to plant some in a half barrel for my little guy. It will be our first attempt at potatoes of any kind.

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  15. Thanks for stopping by my blog. You just brought back so many wonderful memories for me! My Gramp was a gardener and as I am forced to eat store-bought veggies now, I miss growing up on produce literally three minutes out of the garden & into the pot. Potatoes are some of my favorites & I am always disappointed in the ones I buy at Publix (and sadly they're the best I can find). I hated the way dirty potatoes felt in my hands--they always made them feel so dry!--but I would help out my Gramp all Summer long by picking potato beetles off the plants!

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  16. 'ness- You know....you're probably right. How can you be out there digging in the dirt and not be talking to yourself?


    Dawn- Have you noticed that far less Floridians grow veggie gardens compared to New Englander's? Anyway......I'm looking forward to April 6th..... opening day!

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