With the start of autumn just a few days away, the bigleaf maples have begun dropping their giant leaves. I love the look of the golden leaves, despite the work they foretell.

It’s harvest time for our potatoes, both Yukon Gold and Red Pontiac varieties.  Back in mid-April, we planted the potato pieces in four rows in our veggie garden.

By June, healthy plants filled the space.

Over the last couple of months, the plants slowly declined and browned, signaling that harvest time had arrived. I noticed some large red potatoes poking through dirt and pulled gently on an old plant to unearth these beauties. You can clearly see the initial potato piece we planted, with some of the surrounding potatoes it bore.

From just one row of four, I dug a huge basket of potatoes last week. My visiting mother can barely hold these huge Yukon Golds in her hand.

Light is the enemy of potatoes, causing their skin and flesh to turn green and inedible. Our harvested potatoes will keep well in the dark, cool basement.