My potato haiku…ahem…

I love potatoes

Mashed, Roasted or as Salad

Ideal comfort food

On January 2, I ordered the Rare Potato Mix through Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  They arrived 2 weeks ago and smiled at me through their pretty, colorful bags. The potatoes were from Wood Prarie Farm in Bridgewater, ME.

2.5 pounds of Cranberry Red, 2.5 pounds of Carola, 1 pound of Russian Banana Fingerling and 1 pound of Rose Finn Apple Fingerling – all ready to take their place in the DaisyPatch. Then it rained. All weekend. I know, I know, what’s a little rain? I didn’t feel like dealing with it in the rain.

So they waited. This was the weekend of the potato. A few years ago, we made “bins” of chicken wire and filled them with soil, using them as planters for the potatoes. We got potatoes and a lot of slugs who made their way through the chicken wire. Last year, we tried 5 gallon buckets with drainage holes drilled in the bottom. We got potatoes, but not very many. The containers were just too small. So, finally, I got to it this past weekend.

Step 1. Move plants and weed.

Step 2. Lay down landscape fabric.

Step 3. Bring out the chicken wire fencing and grab the wire cutters.

Step 4. Make bins. Step 5. Fill with compost.

Step 6. Plant seed potatoes. Cover with more compost. Label.

   22
22
22
2
2
2
I didn’t count the steps where I went inside to get bandaids because the chicken wire snagged my leg. Or the 4 bandaids – one for each blister on my right hand from the wire cutters.  Those are extra steps I hope to skip next year.
Now, we water, watch, “hill” by adding more compost as the greens emerge. And wait. Mmm. They came with a recipe for Buttermilk Potato Soup. Doesn’t that just sound delish?
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