Due to the deer and groundhog problems last year, I grew alot more potatoes this year... wanted to try to "make a little back" off the garden and so I have 15 different varieties...... planted very late unfortunately due to waiting on the garden to get tilled... I got these from Fedco seeds and it was more for a comparison fun thing... I don't eat alot of potatoes anyway... but I do eat some. I got the 2 lb "trial type" bags of each variety I tried, and each planted about a 6-10 row... some had more eyes than others.. and there were alot more of the fingerlings per 2 lb bag than the big ones... The fingerlings are great for just making "early" boiled potatoes with a little butter salt and pepper... and they are very good tasting. Plus I think they will sell good for the "novelty", at the market.
I get tired of the same 'ole, same 'ole, but I did put in 5 lbs of Red Pontiac early, and also put in all that I had, that had sprouted, so interested to see what they did... I was running out of room and they got planted way too close together.. but hey, they grew even getting in last, so we'll see...
So, I thought, why not... Yes, it costs alot more to get small quantities of potatoes... but I had fun with it. There are still some that are fairly green and growing... some that are "early varieties" that the vines are totally dead. I will be digging them and recording the yields per variety for my own information... and seeing if I like some more than others.
There are different colors... one variety has spots on the skin... looks like big polka dots... and one of the fingerlings is red all the way through...many have yellow flesh and are very good as new boiled potatoes. I have been stealing some from the hills to eat during the summer...
There is a small farmers market just down the road that I will go to and see what I can sell... If I get back the money I have in the seed potatoes and enough left here for me to eat, I am happy. I did get enough green beans this year to freeze, and tomatoes are finally doing pretty good. Got a few cantaloupes coming along and cucumbers. Had some yellow squash and just put some in the freezer... I like to mash it like mashing potatoes and it is a good way to use the ones that start to get a little big.
Still fighting the varmints... trapped 2 coons, 3 possums and 4 ground hogs early on in the live trap and there is one big very smart ground hog that I have seen in the garden once and have not been able to trap... and there are tomatoes and the butternut squash that have gnawed marks in them so I know it is still getting into it.
I am waiting for the ground to soften a bit... we did get a little rain so the ground is better... I am in no rush to dig them.
