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History
Maybe someone follows this blog and remembers my potato patches.
Back then, I hoped for rain.
Today, I wish it had been a little less rain...
Rot
The conditions this year were unusual.
We had a very wet summer, with some heavy rain events.
It washed the potato dams away and the soil didn't drain well enough.
The plants started rotting, so I had to harvest quickly.
It got so bad, the soil started smelling of rotten eggs in some spots.
Harvest
Roughly guessing, I had to discard 10% of potatos, because they were green.
The rain washed the dams away and exposed some potatos to the sun.
I had to discard another 10%, because they were rotten.
The rest were fine.
I am running out of crates.
I still have around 1/3 to harvest, but the rains stopped, so the 'emergency' is over;
The soil has dried out enough, so the rot isn't progressing anymore.
The potatos store well in the soil now and I am under no pressure to harvest them quickly.
Conclusion
The conditions were challenging, but manageable.
I started out kind of clean, but in the end things got messy.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🖤🖤
8/10 - Would recommend (Climate DLC needs a nerf imo)
It's nice to eat potatoes that you grew yourself. And probably potatoes in organic food stores are now 5-10 euros per kilogram.
If I calculate my hours... it's probably not worth the hassle...
Also, I have no good storage for these, so I have to give them away / share them with others. They last until January at best.
The industrial farmers around me produce good potatos, store and sell them at fair prices and their machines just make things so much more efficient...
It's just that potatos are the easiest to grow here, usually require very little work.
It's a reliable crop. That's why I grow it.
In addition to my own potatoes, I buy farm potatoes in the winter. The only bad thing is that farmers use herbicides that our bodies accumulate.
I never knew you planted potates. Last two years was more of maize challenge, if I could recall.
Sorry about the rotten ones. Climates/weather can be very unfriendly. They come sometimes when you least expect them. I hope you will make up with the good ones though.
I grow all sorts of stuff, also rotate crops.
Oh, okay. That's good to know.
It seems you like Irish potatoes. For me, I prefer sweet potatoes.
I grew up on these.
Sweet potatos are a modern exotic thing for me. Maybe I'll try growing them some time, but the climate here isn't ideal, I think.
Okay. I got it now.
Wow, it's so nice to eat what you grow, I have never eaten anything I grew before except flowers though so when I see people put in the work to plant, nurture, and harvest I am always proud of them.
Good job friend!!
Excelente cosecha amigo dentro de poco tiempo espero poder también realizar la mía
Bravo!
As you stated in one comment, for small, hobby producers, the problem is the placement of fruits and vegetables that we grow. Or their consumption.
It's the same in my garden.
When strawberries arrive for harvesting, there are tens of kilograms of them within half a month. Strawberries should be consumed quickly after harvesting, and since it is impossible to eat such a quantity, we usually share them with our neighbors...
And after 11 and a half months, no strawberries 😂
Greetings @felixxx ,
Yes..I do remember the potato patches....
It really sounded disastrous and loads of work, however you have some very lovely potatoes there.
Cheers, Bleujay
Potatoes look in very good condition, and I am surprised that you are a potato farmer, it is quite interesting to know this side of you 😃