Here we are again my friends and it's Tuesday :)
It was another supper busy garden work week here. Pulling out the all but dead tomato plants and ripping apart the straw bales they were planted in and using composted straw to amend the raised beds in the veggie garden and adding what was left to come of the flower beds.
The garlic has been planted for next year :) Hoping for another bumper crop !!! There is nothing that even compares to the taste of fresh harvested garlic. ♥♥♥♥
Then after all of that on Saturday the big sweet potato harvest Started.
This is one of the handmade bales I made back in the spring to grow my sweet potatoes in ... I had 8 of these planted and 1 actual straw bale.
After trimming off the vines ..which went absolutely everywhere in the garden.... the wire wrapped bales looked like this.
This was the last bale I had made and didn't have quite enough wire left to wrap completely around it so I had to improvise. :) This was the easiest bale to get the wire off of though :)
The next stage was pulling apart the bales and lifting up the "SWEETS" I though I had taken a picture of that stage but I guess I forgot to :(
This is what was in that bale...
I deliberately put my foot in the photo so you could see just how big that sweets were!
This next bunch of photos are of the rest of the harvest.
I ended up with this wagon full and two 5 gallon buckets full of "SWEETS"
Next was spreading them out on the basement floor to cure out for a couple of weeks before they are actually sweet enough to eat.
The butternut squash in the picture all came from one plant that was grown in one of the hand made bales too. We have already eaten two of the squash so there were 11 altogether. Off of just one plant. The one plant that I planted in the ground only had 2 squash on it :(
So come Sunday I was one tired lady and pretty much just sat on the couch and crocheted while I watched TV . Mini now has a warm wool sweater to wear when the cold weather really hits.
She likes it and didn't want to take it off.
I forgot to take a new drink photo again so here's one from the past.
Back when things were still green in the garden.
Today's Random Thoughts
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Oh my, those sweet potatoes look WONDERFUL! They are always so expensive here, so I wait till they are on special offer. Your harvest is fantastic, no wonder you were tired. Your mini furry friend looks great in her new sweater! Happy PPF, Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular harvest Carol!! I can't believe how BIG those sweet potatoes are. I did not know they had to rest for a time to sweeten up, and I've never seen them planted in hay bales before. They are very expensive here too.
ReplyDeleteYou always have the most interesting posts.
Happy T-day
Happy Tuesday Great sweet potato crop nothing like home grown-I grow a batch every other year as a crop seems to last us about 2 years have not been able to grow winter squash here mine do not seem to like these hot summers and never make it to a light frost is when we used to harvest ours up in Illinois. good for you getting the garden cleaned up-I am still waiting on some rain so I can do that too
ReplyDeleteMy garden has mostly gone to seed, and I need to get out and clean it up. But I am not ready to harvest my herbs yet, so I'll leave them for a few more days, at least until after the storms we are scheduled to have this week.
ReplyDeleteI can't afford hay bales, because they are very expensive here, especially after most of Kansas caught fire in the spring. The hay went feed cattle, etc., and the rest was burned up in the fire.
I've never tried to grow sweet potatoes, probably because I don't have room for them. I tried to grow regular potatoes one year, but that was a disaster. I am in awe of your garden and your tenacity. I am also in awe of how much land you have to grow everything.
Love your recycled drink. It shows where it all began before the plants were actually planted. Thanks for sharing these photos with us for T this Tuesday.
i learned a lot about gardening here... never knew sweet potatoes Need some time to ripe after harvesting. and what a big heap you got! they are really pricey here, not sure if we have the climate to grow them. - no wonder you were exhausted after all this work! but it gives satisfaction anyway, doesn´t it?
ReplyDeletehappy t-day to you!
OK<.so I am curious about growing these sweet potatoes. Do you plant them in the soil or just in the straw? I have never grown any type of potato or yam and your crop looks fantastic. I am also impressed with Mini's sweater. She is so cute with those big ears. What a great new friend you have. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteMy hubby is soooo curious as to how you planted in the straw bales.... Is there anyway you can do a post on that??? Or maybe you have and you can direct me to it... Happy happy Tday my Tea friend Congrats on a bountiful harvest!! Hugs! deb
ReplyDeleteWow, I am in awe of your gardening skills - that sure is a bumper crop of veggies! Those sweet potatoes are awesome and I've never seen any that big before, amazing! Mini is so cute and her new sweater looks so comfy cosy - I'm not suprised she didn't want to take it off :-). Wishing you a very Happy T Day! J :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my, your crop of sweet potatoes will be delicious, you must have the magic touch to grow such wonderful produce. I loved the sweet sweater on your little dog, she looks so cute.
ReplyDeleteHappy T Day
Yvonne x
Mini in her sweater is darling! I can't believe the "sweets" you harvested!!! I love sweet potatoes! Good Morning!
ReplyDeleteI missed T Tuesday completely this week, but it looks like you had a busy time to report. I love gardening posts! Sweet potatoes are a favorite with my husband, but I've never grown them. Those are huge! What fun you'll have eating them :)
ReplyDeleteWow that is quite the harvest!! Not a huge fan of sweet potatoes...but most people are!! Enjoy... those will be great to have this winter. So many good recipes too!! Love that photo of Mini!!
ReplyDeleteHugs Giggles