​     This year I grew some of the prettiest cabbage right in the above ground bed that I used for my potatoes.  I began to harvest them and those who know me, know my mind spins 100 miles an hour all the time.  This time though, I had a thought about what would happen if I left the stalks where they were for a while, since I didn't really have anything to plant in that bed at the moment.  I decided to pick one of the cabbage heads and do a little experimenting.  I love experimenting.  My grandparents always pulled up the whole plant and gave what was left after harvesting the head to the hogs.  I got that; I do the same for the chickens with other trimmings from the garden.  Those chicks get plenty of collards and kale.
     Anyhow, I cut the cabbage off as usual with my butcher knife and pulled away a couple of leaves.  I left the rest of the dying leaves on because they would keep the grass or weeds from coming up.  I then went on about my daily chores and put the cut stalk in the back of my mind for another day.
     

     Couple of days later, I went to check on the stalk.  As the saying goes, "curiosity killed the cat."     There they were new little cabbage sprouts.  I pondered about taking all but one off, but changed my mind because if they were small heads, that would more than suit me.  I didn't need big portions anyway.  I harvested another cabbage and did the same thing to that stalk and couple days later had the same result from it, except it had four new babies, and I decided to take one of them off.  Three new heads were enough strain on that old mother cabbage stalk. 
     These are up to date pictures of the cabbage heads growing.  As they get bigger, I will post how their journey is progressing in a week or so. Let's just hope the old mother stalk will hang in there with these babies.

     Well, let's get on with the test harvest, that's lingo for I need a few for dinner tonight.  I got my little shovel with the broken handle and went to the corner of the bed determined to just dig one hill.  Suspense has been killing me for a week.  So, i grabbed the little vine and broke the top off to get it out of the way.  Gently, I dug around the hill of potatoes to loosen the soil, then I used my hands.  Gold, pure gold in that mound.  I was a happy camper. That little hill was loaded with paydirt.  

I couldn't have been happier at the number of Potatoes I was staring at.  So much for a "Test Harvest".  They were ready to come out of the ground.  I gathered my spuds for dinner and even a few to share with a friend.  Tomorrow, I will harvest them all.  
     Fast forward to the next morning, Tater Digging Day.  I am always in my garden early every morning, I love mornings and I have to feed the chickens and gather the eggs, so gardening is also part of my routine.  I got all the other chores done and went back to the little shovel, putting it to work.  Took me about an hour to do all the hills carefully not to cut the potatoes. Then, I washed them gently to remove the dirt and placed them out to dry good before storing them for later use.  Here is the Harvest!  I will be redoing the old bed to match this bed next year.  I received two times what the older bed produced.  Oh, and that was the morning pickup on the eggs, had to share! I thank each and every one of you for following and reading about my journeys. 
​   As for now, I made a mess on the patio, so it's time for me to say farewell until the next time.  Please, feel free to comment or ask a question.