194 lbs of sweet potatoes and counting! Time to become an Anderson County Master Gardener

It’s time to register to become a master gardener!

I have noticed that when I make a commitment to my community, I find ways to take positive steps to make the commitment a reality. Gardens serve so many needs in our community and the UT Extension Master Gardening program gives us structure for coordinating our resources. I have gotten invested. I’ve stepped up. I’m finding ways to improve my community through gardening. Please join me!

https://anderson.tennessee.edu/master-gardener-program/

Work day: CORRECTION: Halloween, Monday, 4:00PM.

We made some serious messes and trip hazards in our effort to clean up. Hopefully we can make more progress on clean-up.

It would be nice to add some winter protection to our greens.

We culled some of these. But that’s 194 lbs of sweet potatoes. This was from 2 rows. Chris has three more rows to harvest.

Sweet potatoes come in a $2/pound rather than the normal $3/pound. That’s based on Jason S.’s perception of the farmers’ market prices for sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are coming in at a similar rate as 2021. But Chris planted three more rows this year, so we have a lot more on the way. Also, we had a small harvest at the Isidore and Maria garden that needs to be weighed in. We have lots more sweet potatoes on the way!

Next year with crop totals

It’s deceptive to assume that all of the crops have the same value. Some crops consume more resources in terms of space and time. For example, winter squash look productive, but they required a giant field where little else could grow at the same time.

Likewise, some herbs may not look like a major contributor to the overall total, but the cilantro took up only a small amount of space and we didn’t even plant it! All of the cilantro volunteered this past year where we planted cilantro the previous year.

I have a goal in 2023 to devise methods for tracking the amount of resources that crops consume. This information may help us make more informed decisions about what we might want to grow and how we want to grow it.

Butternut squash to share

As a gardener in the St. Mary’s garden, you may claim some of the harvest. If you are an active part of our gardening effort, please communicate your butternut squash desires to us. We will set some aside for you.