Last Saturday marked the first ever Norwich FarmShare Potato day. As we've not (yet) got any storage on site, we can't keep our potatoes in good condition over the winter. Potatoes don't like to get the frost on them at all, so we needed to work fast and get the potatoes up and out of the ground, bagged up and given to our members to store at home.We had a fantastic turn out with more than 30 people pitching in to get the potatoes bagged up- and we had it nice and easy as the tractor pulled a potato harvester along the rows, doing all the hard work for us. All we had to do was pluck the potatoes up from the surface and pop them in our bags. Alas, disaster was not far behind as the tractor gave up the ghost half way down the second row.
Thankfully, our members and their friends and families got stuck in with forks and strong backs and dug the rest by hand: according to my calculations we lifted more than 2 tonnes of potatoes between us- not bad at all.
As ever with farm workdays, blisters and creaky joints were more than matched by smiles and banter- and a lunch break spent stretched out in the warm autumn sun soothed our tired muscles. If you're tempted to join us on the farm, as we go into the quieter winter season the best day is a Thursday- to help us with the harvest. Drop us an email so we know to expect you!
See our website for more info and some delicious kale recipes. Elena Judd
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