The Great Potato Harvest

I have been slowly harvesting my potatoes since July, but now that cold weather has come to stay it was time to get all the potatoes out of the dirt before they froze solid.  I was pleased to find that the wrinkly, sprouted potatoes I had planted back in April grew into many good sized spuds that were nicely spread throughout the beds.  I filled a box and a half with an assortment of Red Chieftain, Purple Viking and Yukon Gold Potatoes.  Many of them were bigger than my hand.  All of them looked happy and healthy.

These potatoes went into my cold storage in the dark closet of my unheated back room.  Hopefully they will keep well for several months.  I am saving the biggest ones for baking.  The smaller ones will likely wind up in my breakfasts as fried potatoes.  I also want to try dehydrating some to see how they reconstitute.  They could make a great addition to back packing meals if I like the way they turn out.  I also intend to save a few of each kind for replanting in the spring.  I have been replanting saved potatoes for several years now and they seem to be doing better every year.  I have literally harvested over a hundred pounds of potatoes for the price of a few pounds of seed potatoes that I bought years ago.  Aside from the effort of planting and harvesting, these potatoes are virtually free.