The 2018 Sweet Potato Harvest

Digging up root vegetables is probably one of the most exciting homestead tasks. The children absolutely love it, and so do we, especially since we get to watch their reactions upon digging.

This year the sweet potatoes somehow grew, despite the drought and death of everything else in the garden come July. I am sure their growth was hindered, but mostly they made it through until we began to get more regular rains and last week it was time to harvest.

Whenever we harvest sweet potatoes, I often wonder how the grocery store sweet potatoes are so small and uniform. Ours generally are big and squat (maybe our hard, clay soil?) or were tiny little guys that never seemed to grow. “This one looks like one from the store!” was something I heard during the harvest.

When all was said and done we brought an overflowing wheelbarrow full of sweet potatoes up to the root cellar. They are now curing in boxes and we look forward to trying them. I did use a few that were damaged during the harvest in this soup and with a big bowl of summer squash on my counter, that might be on the menu again.

I am ever amazed at the provisions we are given here on the homestead. Yes, we struggle regularly to do things right the first (or fifth) time, give adequate resources and time to our endeavors, and even wonder at how sustainable the location we homestead in could ever really be, given its harsh realities.

But God is faithful and continues to provide above and beyond our basic needs, and we are grateful.