New Potatoes!

I've never successfully grown potatoes before. They always start out ok, then the deer get them. This year that problem was eliminated so I was very hopeful (though tentatively very hopeful) that we might get some potatoes, finally. Then the Colorado Potato (or cucumber, depending on who you ask) Beetle showed up. Argh! Foiled! But I just kept on tentatively hoping that the plant was strong enough to resist those wee buggers, and guess what??? IT WAS. Tonight, I dug down beneath and plucked out treasure: New potatoes.

Dirty, this treasure. But what did you expect?

I washed 'em, parboiled 'em, rubbed 'em with olive oil, salt, and fresh rosemary bits from the garden, and they are now roasting and smell HEAVENLY.

I felt so many potatoes while I was in there digging, I'm positively CHUFFED that we are going to have a full crop of taters. I want to wait until the foliage is completely withered before I dig them all out and 'cure' them; but I might go in there for another batch of new potatoes before that happens.

We're also enjoying a watermelon per day.

This variety, Moon and Stars, is tasty, but seedy. Eating it is like watermelonus-interruptus because you're constantly spitting out seeds. But it's still like a miracle to eat a huge 25 pound watermelon from the garden. Not just once. Every dang day!!!! And the chickens love the rinds and seeds.

I had to rearrange the canning shelf a little today. Not much room left! The garlic braids are gone, but I still have a ton of shallots there - they might be headed for pickling next. I also want to can some crushed tomatoes before the season is over. Guess we'll have to figure out another place to put canned goods!