To plant or not to plant
The question may be, to plant potatoes or not to plant potatoes, but the answer will always depend on the weather.
Spring is a busy time down on the farm, especially when the sun is out, as you might have noticed driving through the countryside lately. My brother, Trevor, has been busy planting potatoes when the weather has been favourable. Any chance I can, I am out with my camera photographing the process, capturing the hard working John Deere’s and their skilled drivers (hence why I do not help in this capacity).
My sister, Rosemary, runs the family business processing the potatoes, JMAC Fries, a company my late father, John, formed in 2005. With a bit of coercion, I got a picture of my two siblings beside the planter as light was fading on Friday 25th April.
In a different field on a sunny afternoon, I photographed planting on a large meadow overlooking the wonderful Mourne Mountains. My favourite shot is the header on this blog article, where I have managed to get the rolling countryside, a narrow lane (bottom right) and a team of tractors all framed nicely between the purple mountains and a blue, clear sky.
View this small gallery and see the process of preparing the ground for planting potatoes – from ploughing, bed forming, bed tilling, de-stoning and then, finally, planting the potato seed. Keep an eye on the news feed to see how the plant grows and is harvested later in the autumn.
Rebecca
This article was written by purplerain