Digging potatoes

Here he is, the main gardener digging for something. What could he be doing in our front yard? He's digging potatoes. Over the past couple of weeks we've harvested about 25 kg (55 pounds) from the back garden, on Saturday Hanno dug up another 30 kgs (66 pounds) in the front garden.

We thought these were kipfler potatoes but they turned out to be Colibans. No matter, we'll still put them to good use over the next few months. We have them stored in baskets in the coolest room of our house - the second bathroom. They're covered with a few layers of newspaper and a towel to make sure no light gets to them.

When looking up potato varieties yesterday, I found this excellent potato chart, and also discovered that Dutch Cream potatoes and Nicolas are two different varieties. I thought they were the same!

These potatoes, planted at the beginning of winter, will feed us for a few months and will be good for all types of dishes like mashed potatoes, potato salad and bake as well as great additions to omlettes, casseroles and soups. I love potatoes and it feels right to me to have a large stash of fresh potatoes ready for the coming months. They should finish around the time the next crop is ready to harvest.

A little bit further on from the potatoes is our second avocado tree. It's growing its first fruit. We eat a lot of avocado so it's wonderful have a couple of trees bearing fruit for us. When we first moved here there was a very old avocado tree in the backyard. We had the sewerage connected and, with all the trench digging, the tree died. Avocados hate having their roots disturbed. Hopefully these new trees will live to a ripe old age and will bear fruit for many years.

The photo above was taken from the chair I sit in when we're having morning tea. It's lovely sitting there because we see nothing other than plants and trees. That big green conatiner is the last water tank we installed. The water it holds waters the pot plants on the front verandah as well as the potatoes and avocados. None of the other plants in the front are watered and survive on rainfall alone.

Many of you know that I've been working on my book proposal and today I go back to work after a two week break. It's become clear to me over this break that I cannot continue to post every day during the week. I've been pushing myself to do it and other things have fallen behind. I'll still post frequently, just not as often as I used to. I need to do all the work my simple life requires, not just write about what should be done. You can subscribe to a feed of my posts so you will know when I've posted. You do that by clicking "subscribe in a reader" orange button in the side bar, and following the instructions it gives.

I hope this week will be a good one for you. It's getting closer to the end of year now so I imagine many of you are putting together a nice collection of Christmas gifts. Enjoy all the small steps and quiet moments your week holds.

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