Surprise!

Back when I started this blog one of the first things I attempted to grow were potatoes. Partly because I’m Irish, partly because they were calling to me from a big display at the nursery, but mostly because it seemed so mysterious. Even carrots and radishes give you hints to what’s going on below the soil. Potatoes were this big green question mark.

I had to buy a whole bag of them at the nursery but when it came time for planting I only had space for two in my big pot. At this point I hadn’t even prepared a raised bed or tilled any of my garden’s hard, clayey soil. I hated to waste perfectly good seed potatoes though, so without a thought I threw a few of them straight into the dirt in a corner of my garden and essentially forgot about it.

That was over two months ago now, and while the potted potatoes shot up immediately and have flourished in their cushy digs,


the ones in the forgotten corner have stayed small and sad and neglected, barely growing 6 inches and then just sort of staying that size.

To be honest they made me feel more guilty than hungry and so today as I was watering the rest of the garden, I decided I may as well pull them out and get it over with. Put them out of their misery so to speak.

Imagine my surprise then when I yanked out the saddest of the bunch and found not shriveled barren roots as I had suspected, but two perfectly formed (tiny) little red potatoes!


I couldn’t believe they’d grown anything at all. I rushed inside to see if they were even edible and sure enough after about three minutes in the microwave in a bowl of water the little guys were about the most tender, butteriest, delightful little roots I’ve think I’ve ever had.


And they practically grew themselves! Now I can’t wait to find out what’s hiding in the big pot. I think I’ll have a potato party this weekend.