September 29, 2018 — This week, the harvest of the long storage crop was in full swing in the Alliston area. Mother Nature has cooperated, and it was non-stop digging. Storages were filling quickly with a healthy crop.
Yesterday morning, I stopped by H.J. VanderZaag storages and saw Lamokas going into storage. Karen VanderZaag was grading the potatoes and looked happy — the crop was excellent, and her job was easy!
In the afternoon, I visited Rutledge Farms in the Shelburne area. Dale Rutledge was storing Yukon Gems. This yellow, fresh market variety with pink eyes has tolerance to late blight, which it has demonstrated in wet years.
Rutledge still grows a few acres of Nicola, which has low glycemic index and is good for diabetics. He is a bit disappointed because the demand for Nicola remains low. Mark Rutledge looked busy at the storage despite having his right arm in a sling.
It was a good week for me. I was able to dig and rate a variety trial at H.J. VanderZaag Farms located behind HJV Equipment. The trial included clones from the New Brunswick Breeding Program. Two russets, a round red and a round white were outstanding.
