This week, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, harvested our first batch of potatoes. The potato is a starchy tuber of the perennial nightshade plant Solanum tuberosum. As the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and rice, potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes”, which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. Many of this season’s “seed potatoes” came from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, a small family-owned business in Ellensburg, Washington. Every year, we pick many healthy potatoes in a variety of shapes, colors, and tastes. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here are two of the three long beds of potatoes we planted last spring. This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.
The best time to dig up potatoes is on a dry day once all the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.
To harvest potatoes, Chhiring uses a rounded gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.
Chhiring drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.
Once lifted, it reveals the potatoes below. The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins appear thin and rub off easily, the potatoes are still too ‘new’ and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage. As they are pulled, the potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.
It’s easy to see how the potatoes are connected to the plant at the root area. They’re very easy to pull off, and often come loose by themselves. Leave any green potatoes alone. When potatoes are exposed to light, they turn green, a sign the toxic substance called solanine is developing, which may cause illness if eaten in large quantities.
As the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into shallow trays, separated by variety and color.
It’s fun to dig and find multiple potatoes waiting to be picked. They are not too deep – any potatoes will only be within the first five-inches of soil.
An entire potato plant grows from just one potato eye, although when planting, always plant a piece of potato with at least two eyes to ensure germination.
Because potatoes grow underground, it is always a surprise to see how prolific the plants have been.
Chhiring picked every potato he could find, even the tiniest of them. If not, they may grow into new plants, where they aren’t wanted.
These ‘Montana’ potatoes have yellow skin and flesh, and are oval in shape with shallow eyes. They are
good early to mid season potatoes that store well.
‘Dark Red Norland’ potatoes have red skin with shallow eyes and white flesh. It makes excellent potato salad and also stores well.
Here’s Chhiring with a tray of ‘Sunrise Gold’ potatoes. These have yellow skin and moist yellow flesh. These large round to oval tubers have very shallow eyes. They make great breakfast potatoes.
These are ‘Russet Norkota’ potatoes – tubers with smooth, red-brown skin, shallow eyes and white flesh. It is excellent for baking, frying or boiling and keeps well.
Chhiring goes through all the potatoes, separating any that were not in good condition. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.
And don’t leave harvested potatoes in the sun as excessive heat could cause them to cook. Just brush off as much soil as possible and let them dry in a cool place.
Look at our first harvest! Chhiring harvested two-and-a-half rows of potatoes. The last row will be harvested later as needed.
All the crates of potatoes are ready to go up to my flower room, where they will be stored until ready to cook. Ideally, potatoes should be kept in an environment around 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. And, don’t store with apples – the ethylene gas will cause the potatoes to spoil. In addition, they should never be stored in the refrigerator. We have so many potatoes with even more still in the ground – I can’t wait to try them all. Thanks, Chhiring!
Whenever I am home at my Bedford, New York farm, I always make it a point to visit all the animals. Among my stops is the poultry-yard where my beautiful chickens, turkeys, and Guinea hens reside.
I began raising chickens many years ago, primarily for their eggs, but over the years, I’ve also grown fond of caring for them and learning about their many different breeds and varieties. I have four coops located near my vegetable gardens. The chicken yard is a very large and enclosed space, completely fenced and well-protected from predators where they have lots of room to roam and range happily.
Enjoy these latest photos of my flock.
Here at my farm, I have a large chicken yard next to my vegetable garden. The area is clean and very safe for my flock. I have a total of four coops. The chickens are all put in at night to keep them extra protected from foxes, coyotes, and flying predators. They are all let out again during the day to roam in their enclosure.
Inside the coops, we always provide water and feed. The hanging feeders are filled with organic layer feed. It provides the hens with protein, which helps them lay strong and healthy eggs.
Here is a chicken enjoying a snack. These feeders are positioned at just the right height for easy, comfortable access.
I have a mélange of types and breeds that are really interesting to look at and fascinating to study.
Right now, I also have three turkeys. These are the two gobblers, or adult males. They are always together. Of the three, one male and one female are heritage birds. The third is a wild turkey that found its way into the yard some time ago and has loved staying here ever since.
This white and black bird is a handsome Hamburg. These are small and active. They are an old, traditional breed whose origin goes back hundreds of years. Hamburg roosters are also known to be particularly loud and love to crow.
Here is a Salmon Faverolle rooster. The Faverolle is a French breed developed in the 1860s in north-central France. They are very unique looking with their muffs, beards, and feathered feet. These birds are very friendly and curious.
This is one of my Guinea fowl. Guinea fowl love to mingle with the chickens – everyone gets along very well. Guinea fowl weigh about four-pounds fully grown. With short, rounded wings and short tails, these birds look oval-shaped. Their beaks are short but curved and very stout.
And here is a Phoenix rooster. The Phoenix is a beautiful long tailed breed originating in Europe. Hugo du Roi who was the first president of the National German Poultry Association created the Phoenix chicken in the late 19th century. Behind it is one of the food troughs filled with scraps. My chickens are very well-fed. They get a good quality pellet mix, and lots of fruits and vegetables from the gardens and scraps from my kitchen.
And twice a day, early morning and late afternoon, the birds are given cracked corn – a treat they love.
The water bowls are checked frequently to ensure there is also fresh, clean water for drinking. Chickens are very vocal. They share more than 30-different calls to communicate with each other, and they can recognize up to 100 different human faces.
Here’s Dawa cleaning out one of the coops. These coops are cleaned thoroughly every week. It’s important that all these birds always have access to clean, dry bedding and good, fresh food.
When laying, hens appreciate privacy – my coops are open all day, so the hens could go inside to their nesting boxes. This hen is perched just outside the nesting box inside the coop.
This Guinea hen is about to enter a nesting box. Each box is 12-inches wide by 13-inches tall – perfect for any hen to nest comfortably.
These are Seramas – the smallest recognized chicken breed in the world. Seramas are known for their upright posture, full breast, vertical, upright tail feathers held upright and close to the body, and vertical wings held down nearly touching the ground. Although they are small, they are quite mighty and mingle just fine with the rest of the flock.
Chickens love to roost. This one is on a perch outside in the yard – a natural log supported by short stumps at each end. We make the perches right here on my farm out of felled trees.
And it’s true – birds of a feather flock together.
These chickens are well socialized – they love to watch all the activity from their perches. They also do well in many types of weather – they are very hardy birds, but optimal temperatures range between 65-degrees and 75-degrees Fahrenheit.
Chickens are not difficult to keep, but it does take time, commitment and a good understanding of animal husbandry to do it well. Before choosing to raise chickens, always check with local planning and zoning authorities to be sure chickens are allowed in your area. The colors and markings on this chicken are so interesting with its short, downward tail.
I started raising chickens when my daughter, Alexis, was just a little girl and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve always had enough egg-laying hens to provide me and my family with fresh, nutritious, organic eggs all through the year.
Here in the Northeast, we're expecting very warm temperatures in the high 80s the next several days. We'll be watching all my animals very closely to make sure they're well-hydrated and comfortable.
Many of you comment about how much you enjoy seeing the animals on my farm, so I thought it was a good time to share this update on my peacocks and peahens. I currently have 20 peafowl. They live in a coop surrounded by a large, fully-enclosed yard located just outside my stable and near my Linden Allee. I visit these beautiful birds every day. I love calling out to them and waiting for their energetic responses. My peacocks are doing exceptionally well and remain active, curious, and very, very vocal.
Here are some of the latest photos.
All my peafowl live in a safe and comfortable area next to my geese pen and fancy pigeon coop. I always call out to them whenever I drive by… and they always answer.
Peafowl are happiest when living in small groups. All my outdoor birds have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm.
Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests.
They are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains and small creatures.
I also provide a good meal for them, which they like a bit wet and soft.
Peafowl are very smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever. It is not unusual for peafowl to come running when the food appears.
Remember, technically only the males are peacocks. The females are peahens, and both are peafowl. Babies are peachicks. A family of peafowl is called a bevy.
And, do you know… a group of peafowl is often called a party, a muster or an ostentation?
Full grown, peafowl can weigh up to 13-pounds. The peacock is a large sized bird with a length from bill to tail 39 to 45 inches.
As beautiful as peafowl are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowl have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. And, with their sharp eyesight, peafowl are quick to see predators and call out alarms. Oftentimes, I can hear them all the way from my Winter House.
Both male and female peafowl have a fan-shaped crest on their heads called a corona. It may take up to one year for a corona to reach full size.
Peafowl also have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.
I am so pleased with how well they thrive here at the farm. With 20 peafowl in all, I have a variety of all-white, as well as colorful, and interestingly marked birds.
This duo of peahens enjoys walking around the pen together. Peafowl are pretty social and curious animals. Yearling peafowl act much like teenagers – they play, pester each other and love to explore if allowed. The water receptacles are cleaned several times a day and always filled with clear, fresh drinking water.
Some will be more tame and more friendly than others. These two are very friendly and are eager to greet all those who enter the enclosure. Since most of them have grown up here at the farm, they aren’t shy at all. In fact, the peafowl are all very accustomed to all the visits.
While peafowl are ground feeders and ground nesters, they still enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. Here is one inside the coop perched high on a rafter.
Inside the coop, they also have other perches such as this tree and ladder – both made using wood from the farm.
Outside, we “planted” several dead trees where they could perch and watch all the activity around them. It is important that they have a variety of perches upon which to roost.
Peafowl will look at you in the eye; however, if you stare at them or seem aggressive in your body movements, these birds will feel threatened. Talking softly and keeping eyes averted tells them you are not a predator.
A peacock doesn’t grow its first train until three. And even then, it won’t be full grown or have showy ocelli. The train gets longer and more elaborate every year until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor.
A peafowl’s legs are very strong. They have three toes on each foot facing forward, and one facing backwards. They also have sharp, powerful metatarsal spurs that are used for defense. Also, as they develop, males will tend to have longer legs than females.
Here is a mature peacock with its gorgeous tail feathers. Breeding season is just about over now and soon, he will lose his feathers, and then grow them back next year, when breeding season begins again. Peafowl prefer warm climates. Their ideal habitat is an open tropical seasonal forest. They do just fine in the warm weather. See you soon my dear peafowl!
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