Harvesting New Potatoes!
Harvesting new potatoes is something I enjoy more than almost anything in the garden. One stem and it’s leaves had shriveled and turned brown, and that’s when my neighbor, C.L., had told me it was time to dig for potatoes. This was my first find from my second batch of potatoes.
Finding the first potato is the most exciting
Then I found two more attached to the little strands that stretch down from the stem. It’s so exciting to find that you’ve actually grown potatoes!
Freshly dug new potatoes
I didn’t want to disturb those other tiny strands, each one leading to a growing potato, so I stopped there. This is the plant that I included in my “Memorial Day in the Garden” episode, when you just see the small sprouts breaking the surface. Just over two months ago, I planted one sweet potato and two white potatoes, and mounded them up twice. This is the plant that’s left.
One of my first attempts at growing potatoes
The maple-shaped leaves (right) are the sweet potato, a very different shape from a regular potato leaf (left).
Potatoes and sweet potato plants growing in the same pot
Potatoes are so easy to grow (I have been lucky to get through bug-free), that I should always have potatoes on the countertop growing eyes, so that I have a continuous supply of potatoes. Do you enjoy harvesting new potatoes? Thanks for reading! – Kaye
Category: Urban Gardening, Vegetables
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No bugs on mine yet either! (knock on wood) I hope they come out as good looking as yours!
Are yours in the ground, though?
They are in a small 3×4 raised bed. Some are withering…maybe time to reach in and see whats down there!
Yes, it could be time!
Kaye, I don’t know if you found this to be true when you un-earthed the ‘taters but for me, digging potatoes and finding eggs in the nest boxes, even after years and years of it never loses its magic. Like finding a hidden secret maybe. Lovely looking potatoes.
*anna
Yes, it’s an AMAZING feeling, when you touch one (you can’t see anything down there), and you prod a little and realize you’ve created something that is 2″ across! Magical!