The last week or so, I’ve been scouring the Internet for information about potato diseases and pests. What, I wondered, could be causing my potato plants to wilt with leaves eventually turning yellow and brown. Could it be black leg? Blight? Magnesium deficiency?

Then I started to do some math and realized that I’d planted them around February 19, which means they’ve been in the ground 78 days. These (Yukon Golds) are “early” potatoes, which means they reach maturity between 60 and 80 days. So, I began to think, perhaps they’re just dying naturally — meaning they’re ready for harvest. But, wait, they haven’t flowered yet! Aren’t they supposed to flower? Apparently not. Or not always, anyway.

So tonight, the whole family marched out to the potato patch and started digging up one particular plant.

The idea, of course, was to dig them up and get them onto our plates as soon as possible — boiled and salted and covered with melted butter.

And here’s what we came up with:

I, of course, have put in the largest possible picture of the bounty but, in reality, it’s just a handful, or slightly more. Still… I can’t wait to taste them!

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