Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

We have started to lift the potatoes. We have been digging them up as and when we want to eat them but we now need the space for some autumn/winter planting for onions, garlic and brassicas. It is important we get every last potato up as we don't want any left that will then start sprouting next year. You shouldn't grow potatoes in the same ground two years running (this is called 'crop rotation') in order to prevent a build-up of pests and diseases relating to this plant: onions are a good follow-on crop as onions and potatoes don't share the same diseases. Crop rotation like this is recommended for most growing and so we keep very strict records about what we grow in each polytunnel bed each year.
Once the potatoes are lifted, the top part of the plant is discarded and the excess soil is shaken off. The potato leaves end up on the compost heap to rot down as unfortunately they are poisonous to animals. It is a shame as there are soooo many of them.
And in case you were wondering, we don't feed goat feed to our veg: this bag is for storing the potatoes. It once held 25kg of goat mix, now it holds spuds from just FOUR of our plants. We keep them in non-transparent bags like this because if the light gets to them they go green. It is also important we keep them dry so they don't rot!!
Meanwhile the salad leaves and carrots continue to grow: we are definitely getting our seven-a-day at the moment.