It’s unseasonably warm today, sunny and 75 degrees. A perfect day to get those potatoes out of the ground and down in the basement. But first we had to haul out all of the last year’s potatoes. Yep, we still had ’em down there! Many were still hard but sprouting badly. And a lot of the sprouts had baby potatoes growing on them. (Hey, by spring, we would have a good crop!) Well, not really, but they were cute.

Our Dakota Pearl potatoes were wonderful! We’ve found that they are pretty scab resistant and as solid through and through as a rock. Many weighed a pound or more! And I’ve got three more rows to dig. Wow! Three hills make a 5-gallon bucket full to the tippy top. They work much better for us than do russets, which scab badly and are plagued with hollow heart. I know they are an old standard for many people, but for us, they sure could be improved upon.

Dakota-Pearls

Helping us is our new family member. Naw, I didn’t have a baby. But friends gave us a gorgeous pup. He is half Lab and half Australian Cattle Dog, seven weeks old, and as cute as a button. Will thought maybe Spencer would like to “train” him, as he knows the ropes. And Spencer is SO good with babies! He licks him all over and even lets him eat out of his bowl with no ugly faces or growling. Hondo is new today to us, but is already learning to potty outside and has a “cave” under a stool in the laundry room. We will crate train him so he will learn to stay out of mischief during the night. This is a good way to help potty train pups as well as give them their own space. Spencer loved his “house” and was shocked when we took it out to the storage barn when he was older and didn’t need it. He thought he still did! (Now he sleeps on a twin mattress tucked halfway under our bed.)

Will-Hondo

Mittens is still a bit put out that a stranger is among us but I’m confident that pretty soon she’ll love him too. — Jackie

12 COMMENTS

  1. OOOOOOPS!!!! I do mean Back Woods Home Magazine……’nuff said!!! But I seriously have read all the articles in the archive and all of the archived blogs, every word, and have started them again!!! Rick

  2. Jon,

    We dig our potatoes after the vines have died down in the fall. You can dig them earlier but they keep better if they hold in the ground instead of in your basement. So we dig them after a couple frosts and before it freezes.

  3. Ralph,

    We’ll see how Hondo does as a stock dog. We are optomistic, though. We had a dog vs. deer incident back in Montana, only it was our wolf hybrid pup. The deer ended up chasing him all around the house and up onto our front porch. No damage to Yutah, but so much for deer being afraid of “predators”!

  4. Rick,

    I’d check with your local nursery or seed potato source and see if they will order some for you. That’s what I did after getting Dakota Pearls by “mistake” last year and finding out how great they are. Much cheaper than online and no shipping cost! (Ouch! You DID mean my artiles in Backwoods Home Magazine, didn’t you???) lol. Hey, you’re family to us!

  5. Cindy,

    I’d just toss them in the juicer; they’ll thaw real fast in there. We got the seed potatoes (Dakota Pearl) at our local feed mill, Homestead Mills in Cook, MN. But they’re not all that uncommon; I’ve seen them in several nurseries locally. Ask your local seed potato source now about ordering some when they do bulk orders in the early spring.

  7. Sure hope the new pup likes to stare down cows and goats! He will be a great addition to the farm. Its always fun to watch a natural herder at work. I’ve seen a video of them trying to stare down a deer. Uh, that doesn’t work out too well for the dog.

  9. Jackie I too want to know where to get the Dakota Pearl potatoes. I have seen them on line but they were selling tiny lots of about 2 pounds and I am frugal….I’d like to get 50 lbs. if they are available. My Yukon Golds did great as well as the Red Pontiac….Always read every word you write in Countryside and the blog and the questions and responses….Love you all….Rick

  10. I’ve dug the potatoes out of my barrels, but am waiting for a few dry days before attacking the ones in the plot up the hill. Up there they don’t get enough water so are much smaller than their cousins down by the cabin in pots. But any potato is a good potato. – Margy

  11. Your puppy is gorgeous!! He is so cute. I really like the looks of those potatoes too. Where did you find the seed? I always like to try new. The German Butterballs and our Kennebecs are great this year too. Do you know if I could put my frozen raspberries into my juicer and let them thaw and juice? Or should I thaw them all first? This is my first year with a juicer and I really like it! Excellent article on aging on the homestead in the Backwoods Home magazine.

  12. I now know what potato I’ll be planting next spring. And, your new puppy is too cute. Thanks for keeping us updated about your and Will’s homestead. I look forward to each and every post.

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