I haven’t had a lot of success growing vegetables but I haven’t tried very hard, either. Watering in the summer is not something I’ve managed to organize. Even though the vegetable patch is only about 12 feet by 8 feet (and that includes the raspberries), I would have to take 2 minutes to unravel the hose to reach that spot, so I don’t do it a lot. I justify my laziness as being mindful of xeriscaping practice, even though we live in an area of plentiful water.

About 10 years ago I planted some Russian Blue potatoes that I found in the local nursery. They weren’t the most fabulous potatoes, but they certainly have been persistant. Every year we find some more, and eat them. I quite like them now.In 2009 I picked up some heirloom potatoes at the farmers’ market in Whistler. They were delicious and I saved 3 or 4 to plant the next spring. We enjoyed eating a couple of meals at the end of the summer.In 2012 we have finished another neglectful gardening season. Look what I dug up.

My blogger friend eloquently described the heartache of Colorado potato beetles in New Brunswick. I haven’t seen any here, but probably suburban Vancouver is not their preferred location, especially on this very small scale.

I’ll have to make some mashed potatoes and see how appetizing the colour is.

I went looking for other blogs with clever posts about potatoes and found The Meat and Potatoes of Life. There wasn’t anything useful about potatoes but a funny piece about the Olympics. That is what is so much fun about blogging.