Anguilla has been extremely dry for 2021 and I looked at my ground for several months just shaking my head – as the parched earth and the withered plants seemed to mock my thoughts.
I planted vines in November 2020 and had hopes of reaping a good sized crop of sweet potatoes around March, but they withered and dried as very little or no rainfall continued.
Being an eternal Optimist and trying not to doubt my predictions that rain would fall from June, I began to prepare my ground for eventual planting by clearing away the old plants and making ready to bank some rows.
I saw some huge cracks in the earth and wondered if the earth was so parched – it was opening up. To my surprise I discovered about a dozen white sweet potatoes just under the surface.
Unfortunately, in my heart, I already knew that even though I was reaping these large sweet potatoes, they would be rotting (kanker) in preparation for eventually sending out new shoots.
I was surprised when I weighed the three largest together and they topped the scale at 14 lbs.
I learned a lesson last week: never judge a book by its cover and harvest when the time is due.
Needless to say, I’m cutting the potatoes up to put back in the ground as seed.
