Spuds

click on the spudniks to enlarge

These are Yukon Gold potatoes.  

I only planted one row (instead of the usual two) because the yield has always been outstanding.  Not so much this year - they were just barely acceptable.

During the excavation I found that some of the seed potatoes planted this spring had rotted.  The cuttings I received from the seed supplier were sub-optimal and with all the rain probably a third of them simply decayed never to germinate.

It would be easy to lay this at the feet of the rains this growing season but a raised garden is a well-drained garden.  Better seed equals better results. Lesson learned. 

If you grow your own potatoes you prepare them for storage by digging them-up with a fork and letting them set for twenty-four hours on top of the newly-turned soil.  Do not allow them to set out in the rain.  The next day move them to a wheel barrow and leave them in the garage or a location where the mice won't nibble on them.  After a week gently rub the dirt-off with your hands (do not wash them) bag them and store them in a refrigerator crisper at 40 degrees. If it is cold, dark and humid they'll keep for up to a year.  With time the starches will gradually convert to sugar and your spuds will take-on a sweeter profile.