Pickin' Potatoes

This morning while I was outside pulling weeds and checking on my garden, I decided on a whim that it was time to harvest the potatoes. I follow a strict gardening science when it comes to growing potatoes and it goes something like this: plant seed potatoes in early spring, water regularly, and then pull up mature potatoes in late summer when you cannot stand one more day of looking at the massive, drooping, yellow vines that sprout above the ground and signify growth below. The potatoes are my favorite vegetable to harvest because, since they grow deep under the soil, its impossible to know how big of a crop you have until you start digging down into the dirt to uncover all the goods. It's sort of like searching for buried treasure, especially for the kids, who became happily covered in mud while they "helped" me dig up potatoes with their shovels. And we ended up with a good size crop this year, much more than I was expecting. I'm telling you, if you're new to gardening and are looking for an easy thing to grow, plant some potatoes. They require nothing but high-quality, deep soil, a little patience, and the ability to overlook those ugly vines as they grow.
So I guess its potato soup for dinner then???

Our biggest and smallest pick this year, with a lemon for size reference.