My Embarrassing Potato Harvest
Today I hang my head in shame sharing with you my potato harvest from this year. I spent so much time nurturing the seed potatoes, going to the extra effort of fencing them in after I’d noticed the raccoon’s getting into them, and watering them when we had no rain.
This is quite the embarrassing sight. I was so excited to dump my feed sack bags and fork out a big harvest of delicious homegrown potatoes. Well to my surprise I guess the raccoons got more than I thought they did.
My potato harvest was quite disappointing to say the least. I kept dumping bag after bag only to find a couple of small potatoes protrude from the earth. I’m not even sure if I got enough taters to off set the price I paid for the seed starters.
I do know if I do it next year I need to fence in the area right from the get go before the critters discover them and have a midnight snack. Hubby and I had three meals out of them and that’s it.
So I come to you today sharing my potato fail, insert sad face here. I’m sure thankful I wasn’t counting on a big batch of spuds to get me through the winter. It just happens hubby had some blood work done and came back with several food allergies and we’re no longer having potatoes in our house.
Maybe there was a plan all along and I’m just now discovering what it is. I certainly don’t have to be concerned with wasting potatoes or them rotting away. Well here’s to a bigger and better crop next year.
So sorry the (w)retched raccoons feasted on your harvest. I have a feeling that even fencing will not deter them as they are very clever. I lost heirloom bean seeds to deer one year so I know the feeling. I planted half my seeds, deer ate them when the vines were 3′ tall, rinse, repeat until they were all gone.
Mother Nature sure doesn’t help us. I planted heirloom tomatoes from seeds I’d saved from heirloom tomatoes I bought. The dreaded muskrat came in and cleaned off the plants. Once I researched what to do a fence went up and new tomatoes started growing. Luckily,I did get a nice batch. For potatoes, I buy what I like to eat. Peel them and put the peels in the ground. They grow into beautiful plants and delicious potatoes. No extra expense on seeds here. I have been doing this for years. Learned this little trick from my French Grandmother. Nothing better than FRESH stuff from the garden.
I feel for you Dawn. Every time I plant a garden , the critters get into it. I gave up . Your potatoes are so nice, the ones they left. On a side note, I never knew raccoons ate potatoes. Have a good week !