I set out today in the noon-time heat to dig up what I thought would be a handful of potatoes. These are the German Butterballs that I planted in Spring 2014 and then never bothered to dig up last year. They sent out new foliage this spring and that had died back a few weeks ago, so I figured it was time to see what was underneath the small mound of soil. I put my garden fork in and was surprised to see how many potatoes I uncovered -- lots of golden yellow orbs -- some big, some tiny. Then I dug in again and again. I put them all in a bucket and brought them home to weigh them -- 7 pounds total. Not too shabby for basically zero work on my part!
Also happening in my plot (aside from the ongoing cherry tomato explosion) is the first Okra harvest -- all two of them. I only put three plants so only expect to get a few at a time. This first harvest now kicks off what I call the keep-up-with-Okra time of year in the garden, which is simply to make sure to get over to my plot at least for a few minutes every day to pluck off the newest tender Okra before it gets too big and woody to handle. (Hey, get your minds out of the gutter!)
So how is your edible garden growing this week?
About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden
just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20
ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May
2011.)
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Congrats on the potatoes! I'm thinking about growing some next year, but need to have a good succession plan since they'll be in my front yard.
ReplyDeleteI am also growing okra (for the first time) this year. I'm getting about 2 pods per plant per picking. How are you keeping yours until you have enough to cook?
Thanks, Kristen. For your potato front-yard potatoes, you might consider growing them in a bag or barrel -- you can google many instructions for it -- otherwise, they are not very attractive plants and they do take up space.
ReplyDeleteFor okra, since I only get a couple per day I eat them fresh - usually while watering or weeding my plot. They do dry out quickly, I noticed, if you leave them out on the kitchen counter. My advice would be to store in a plastic bag in your refrigerator, but use them asap.
Maybe other readers of this blog have more okra storage experience and can chime in here?