So wet we can't harvest the potatoes

It has been so wet this autumn that we have been unable to harvest the potatoes from the field. It is a waste of food on the one hand, but the amount of fuel that would be needed to harvest them, the damage it would cause to the soil and the fact that it would probably cost more to harvest the potatoes than they are worth means that they will stay in the field.

Potato Harvesting

The potatoes have been harvested we have photos to prove it! In the photos you can see the harvester getting the potatoes out of the ground and then they are put into the trailer running alongside. When the trailer is full, the tractor then takes the potatoes out of the field to either be stored or packed ready for the supermarkets, or perhaps made into crisps or chips!

Autumn coming

Autumn is coming, the leaves have really started to go yellow, orange and red, photos to follow soon. We are harvesting potatoes at the moment so it is good that it is keeping dry. I will load up the photos this week so you can see how potatoes are harvested in the field.

Potatoes are growing!

We planted the potatoes in April and then we had a very dry spell without rain, but the potatoes are now growing well. Potatoes are planted in rows as you can see on the first picture.

Why do you think there is a pile of stones in the field? well everyone likes to buy perfect round potatoes in the supermarket with a good clean finish to the skin. If a potato grew around a stone in the ground then it would be mis shappen and if it grew too close to the top if the soil it would turn green and be rejected. How do we overcome this? we take the stones out of the soil in the rows and put it in the space between and we have to plant the potatoes at a depth where they don't come into contact with the light.

Its a complicated job!