Monday, October 4, 2010

First Frost - Sweet Potato Harvest-Few flower Pictures

5:00 AM, a very cool 38°. No doubt there will be more frost this morning.
From 2010_10_03

There was a light frost on the sweet potato row yesterday morning so I cut the tops off and dug them. I always leave them laying in the sun for at least a day to cure.
From 2010_10_03
The variety is Beauregard.
I was happy with the harvest; some hills were not good, some with 1 or 2 and several with 6 or more nice size potatoes. DH asked me why the difference and I was at a loss to tell him why. I will be saving a couple of potatoes for slips from the two hills with the most potatoes.
From 2010_10_03
I got 38 lbs from row. I figure that is at least $30 worth of potatoes, but haven't priced them lately.

I sorted out some of the longer skinny ones and I will scrub them in a few days and bake them. I love to eat them cold as a snack that way. DH won't touch them.

The grass bed is getting its fall colors now:
From 2010_10_03
This is the back side view:
From 2010_10_03

More outside work planned for today.

5 comments:

  1. I love your frosty gardens, still color to enjoy and dang, look at all those sweet taters. You really are an inspiration Glenda, and I appreciate all of your hard work, and the pictures and stories you share here.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  2. Frost? Oh my....is that early for you this year? We haven't had one yet. Oct 18 is traditionally our first frost and I'm not looking forward to it. Say, that is a nice haul of sweet potatoes. They are one of my fave vegs - so tasty, and good for you too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well it's almost 7am and so far we are sitting at 34 here in NE OK. After that horrid summer, we deserve a long fall. For sure this is the earliest I can remember getting frost. Our normal frost date is not for another couple of weeks. Last year our first frost wasn't till November. I picked my beans by flashlight last night. I was trying to let some of them get big enough to make seed. But I haven't harvested my sweet potatoes from the wading pool yet. I didn't get them planted till late so I don't know if I will get anything, but at least it will make slips for next year! Mine are just from a grocery store potato that sprouted all by itself, three years ago. I planted and got a good crop, then didn't plant any and had a volunteer that had wintered over in the raised bed. I was just shocked! So I saved that guy and got slips from him to make this year's crop. But didn't plant till early July because of the moving thing.

    I love my sweet potatoes freshly baked with salt, pepper and butter! I had some wonderful sweet potato french fries that day we went out to eat after we closed on the Ponca house. I've made them before. You have to be really careful and not disturb them while they're frying because they break so easy.

    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that it was sat morning that it got 33* here, with patchy frost. It really has cooled off here in central Nebraska. I had some frost damage so it done in my Morning glories and some tomato plants and my peppers.
    I have been busy cleaning up the garden area. and I have been finishing up tomatoes. I will try to do some green tomatoe relish, and then I think that I am done for the year. I need to do some jelly, but I do that more or less when it really cools off, as I have a gas stove and it sure heats up my small kitchen, great when it is cool, but not when we still get in the 80's by afternoon.
    My neighbor still has some tomatoes and I picked some apples from his tree, and will see if I can get something from them, they are a little hole-y and worm-y. I am not going to start greens in my cold frames until about Feb 15th or the end of Feb, I am, to be honest, gardened out for the time being, so I will take a rest and start up the cold frames later. I will get them ready to plant so they are ready to go, but that's it.
    Enjoy your sweet potatoes, I never was fond of them, but if you have a great way to prepare them, let me know and I will try another. My grandmother made them all the time, she was raised in the south and cooked with them often.
    Enjoy your week, and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was surprised to see you had frost already! We got down to around 38 one evening a week or so ago, probably around the time Ilene had the cold morning, but I don't remember frost. Most of the sweet potatoes I planted in the ground were eaten by rabbits. The rest have also been nibbled on. I wonder if I will get much of a harvest. We're having a warmer October than normal.

    ReplyDelete