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4-season Farming
Spring Planting
After the land warms up, the fields get tilled and prepared for
planting. When the grain seeding is finished the soil is usually
warm enough to start planting the spuds. We plant healthy, non-treated,
whole seeds only. A fair amount of it is green-sprouted which will
result in faster emergence and give the young plants a good head
start.
Since we do not use herbicides we have to keep a close eye on
weeds. In some years we have to 'fingerweed' about 12 days after
planting.
Four to five weeks later, when the potato plants are starting
to poke out of the ground, we put a hill of earth around them.
This suppresses the weeds, lets the soil warm up further and protects
the soon-to-grow spuds from sunlight.
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Summer Growing
The ideal weather conditions are intermittent rain and sun. Potatoes
need good quantities of both.
We do our best to employ environmentally-safe methods wherever
possible. We want to use our land responsibly while delivering
a healthy vegetable to your family.
The summer is filled with activities to look after our crops.
The potato plants are cultivated to suppress weeds and let some
fresh air into the hills. Hay for the cattle is cut, baled and
wrapped. Field roads, headlands and buffer zones are mowed or mulched.
This is also the time of year that our potato warehouse and the
grading facilities are cleaned and readied for a new crop of Eco-Spuds™.
In late summer to early fall the canopy (or plant's leaves) is
chopped off and mulched in between the rows. This will stop the
underground potatoes from further growing, it sets their skin and
gets the spud ready for harvest.
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Fall Harvesting
In September and October, we harvest our potatoes in a unique
two-phase system. After digging, they are left in the sun for about
two hours so they can dry and cure. This will make them less prone
to bruising and storage diseases later on. Then they are gently
picked up by the harvester to be trucked to the warehouse.
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Winter Warehousing
As Winter sets in, the farm hands move their daily routine from
the fields to the potato warehouse. After a two-week curing period
the potatoes are gradually cooled by the cold night air to prepare
them for cold storage in the warehouse.
A potato is actually a living organism which interacts with its
surrounding environment. So, to prevent greening and assure freshness,
we store them in absolute darkness, at the proper temperature (4°C),
and at their ideal humidity (92-95%).
When an order is received, only then are our Eco-Spuds™ washed,
graded, and bagged for delivery to your grocery store.
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Cattle are part of your Spud's growing cycle
All of our culled potatoes - the ones that aren't good enough
for your dinner table - are fed to our cows as a daily treat. In
this way, we avoid 'cull piles' on the farm, which can be a major
source of potato diseases such as blight. The cattle also enjoy
a regular treat of barley and oats, and of course, all the hay
they can eat! In return, they provide us with a rich manure which
is returned to the soil to add nutrients for the next growing season.
In all, the cattle fit very well into our eco-friendly farm. |
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Home | About Us
| Ecologically Grown | 4-season
Farming | Cookin' with Spuds
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