Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Potatoes

On the pro side of no rain, what I had weeded is stayed weed free.  On the con side of it, I had to water one day and weed another day.  It was like concrete.


Oye.  This is one corner of the potatoes.  It's a total mess.


On July 18th, I started weeding them.  Sadly, all the tops had browned and the potatoes I checked were about 1 inch round.  I continued to weed, not giving up, and hoping the next rain would revive them.


A few plants still have green on them, so I continued to weed.  you know I'm not one to give up unless it's obviously just not going to yield us food.  


Yeah, as the days passed by, and the weeds came back (after that photo), I started digging.

Here's what we got.

Dinky is this summer's word.    A complete fail.  We planted 15# and harvested 15.43#.  The heat waves, despite watering, caused the plants to die off way too early.  Such a waste of money and time.

I will be buying the almanac from now on, and checking the weather predictions.  I won't plant late ever again.  

Live and learn.  Don't plant late if that's the case.  In our area, it did not work.  The tomato plants are not tall enough, didn't have enough time, the weather is already changing, and the tomatoes are way too small.

Not complaining, just sharing reality.  It's not all peaches and cream.

12 comments:

Granny_J said...

Sadly, I had the same results with my garden that you had with yours. I planted later than normal and was very disappointed with the results.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

granny j, next time this happens we won't be putting in a garden. It's been a huge loss for us.

Susan said...

With the rapidly changing climate, it's hard to know when to plant anymore. All the old tried-and-true rules have flown out the door. I am trying to be more aware of the changes so that I can plant accordingly, but some years you just can't stay ahead.

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Disappointing results-yes-but never a waste. Your were exercising when you planted and weeded, you had good time outdoors and you learned another gardening lesson as well do, every year. Hang in there and garden on!

mamasmercantile said...

I am so sorry, all the hard work and effort you put in it must be very disappointing for you.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, I agree. I will be buying the almanac next year, and every year after that (and hope it guides me better).

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Donna, you are so right! Ha ha! Lesson learned and exercise. And fresh air.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks mamasmercantile

Sam I Am...... said...

I'm so sorry....that's the pits because you put the same amount of work in regardless of the yield.

Goatldi said...

We didn't get any potatoes year but neither did we plant any. We planted two years ago and actually had volunteers crop up last year that apparently were missed the year before. So I guess we got a bonus round then. Better return for your efforts next year. And I agree about the Almanac.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Sam I am

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Goatldi