Digging Spuds in September

Despite the 31F thermometer reading here at the house reading yesterday morning, the garden does not appear to have been hit by a frost. Had we not covered the tomatoes, of course, there would have been a killing frost because that’s how that works. I pulled up all the soaker hoses around the potatoes, then brought in the corn to blanch and freeze. The husband said he was available to help dig potatoes after lunch.

Right after he got back from his trash run, a golden retriever showed up in our yard. I put this picture up on some local Facebook sites to see if anyone was looking for her.

We fed her and gave her some water and she followed us around. Unfortunately, we’re in an area that serves as a dumping ground for unwanted animals—everything from dogs to roosters. We needed no discussion, though; if she had been abandoned, we would have adopted and kept her. Later in the evening, someone in the neighborhood came to claim her. They had been shooting at their house and she got spooked and ran away.

We spent a couple of hours digging potatoes and have a goodly supply for the winter. (That’s one of the husband’s very large, very deep wheelbarrows, so there are more potatoes there than you might think.)

I’ll sort these for storage this afternoon. We planted German Butterballs—which will get eaten first because they don’t keep as well—and a lot of russets (Clearwater and Umatilla).

The forecast is for another stretch of warm weather this week and no frost danger. At some point, though, I will have to call an end to the tomatoes and pull the plants.

I am looking at my calendar for the next couple of weeks and I may have to jettison some activities. I’m feeling like I don’t have time to stop and catch my breath and that is not a good thing. As much as I want to participate in market later this week—even if I am not selling anything—other projects here have priority. I’ll see how today and tomorrow play out and reassess. I’m teaching an all-day serger class on Wednesday.