F.A. Farm

We had our first new potatoes for supper last night, June 6th! This was a week earlier than last year, when the first potato arrived on our plates on June 12th. Our Red Thumb fingerlings had just started to flower, so I thought I would "tickle out" some spuds (so as to preserve the plant). I was quite surprised at the size of some of them. Red Thumbs grow fast and big anyway, but it is only 57 days since planting. I have been putting langbeinite (sul-po-mag), as well as greensand, in my fertilizer mix for the last two years and the spuds really respond to the quick shot of potassium and probably also to the trace minerals. I also notice that my potatoes don't even need salt, which I assume is because I am feeding the soil properly. Another thing I noticed last year is that the plants haven't even used much of the "drop" or "chit" when I dig up the plants. Evidently, they start grabbing nutrients from the surrounding soil as soon as they can, eschewing the stored carbohydrates from the drop. Anyway, we had a wonderful supper as usual, with fresh salad greens, sauteed Chinese cabbage with shallots, and fagioli. Toni had a mojito with spearmint from her herb garden and I opted for some of my homemade beer. We don't make much money from the farm, but we sure eat good.