Spudtacular !

When we ventured out to Tregunno Seeds we purchased 4 purple seed potatoes and planted them in the garden. I have never grown potatoes but I thought it would be nice to give it a try since my father's family grew potatoes on their farm in Drummondville, NB.

Potatoes are a mysterious crop because all the action is happening underground and you don't really know how you are doing until harvest time. You know when to harvest them because the tops of the plants yellow and die off.

They can be a tricky crop to grow because they are heavy feeders and have many pests. We chose the purple potato because I personally have never eaten one and they are a pretty hardy plant.

Our plants haven't shown any signs of blight (black mold) or pests so it's looking good. The plants have already flowered and are about 2-3 feet tall.

We dug trenches and put the whole potatoes in the ground instead of halving them first as a preventative measure as the soil is pretty wet and we didn't want to lose our precious little tubers to rot.
As the plants grew we "earthed up" the dirt so it made mounds at the base of the plant slowly burying it. We stopped once the plants flowered about a foot or so deep. The reason for "earthing up" is to keep the tubers protected during the cooler months as well as making sure they don't turn green. Green potatoes are inedible.
If you've never seen a purple potato check it out !

If you aren't sure when to plant your potatoes according to phenology it is said that as soon as you see your first dandelion bloom it's potato time !