Digging Sweet Potatoes on our Property in Horsepen Bottoms

When I was a child, my grandfather grew cotton, silage for the cows, and corn. He filled a huge corncrib in our big old barn every year. I loved to go in there in the fall and shell corn for the horses.

Things are so different today. I often wonder what he would think. The entire creek bottom is covered in sweet potates!

I love the activity that the sweet potato harvest brings to the farm. Workers are driving the big tractors, the diggers, the mower, and skid-steers to load the potato crates onto the big rig that transports them just down the road to the potato shed where they await delivery to market.

I wanted to share this special time with you. This post is a little different. Hope you enjoy the photographs and videos. And of course, I will post a sweet potato pie recipe at the end. Just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Step 1: mowing down the sweet potato vines with the big green tractor.

Step 2: The digger is pulled by another tractor.

The soil along with the sweet potatoes is dug up and travels down a conveyer belt that runs through the center of the digger. Eight people are stationed on the platform–four on each side. They gather the potatoes from the soil, sort them and drop them into crates behind them. The soil then goes out the rear and is deposited back into the field.

Step 3: When the crates are full, the tractor heads back to the yarding area to unload before returning for another load.

Step 4: unloading the crates and loading them onto the big rig before heading back out.

An overview of the entire process and the big rig heading out to the potato shed. I want to drive that truck!

Yep, she’s barefooted again! Just like her granny! Bella’s home from school–loves playing in the doodle dust!

A few more pics from the day’s harvest:

Transportation to and from the field

Traditional Sweet Potato Pie!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet potatoes (boiled or baked)–if you use canned, drain well. You are forewarned–It won’t be as good!
• 1/2 C. butter (real butter)
• 1 C. granulated white sugar
• 1/2 C. milk or half and half
• 2 large eggs (3 medium)
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 (9-inch) piecrust–unbaked

Method:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Bake or boil sweet potatoes until tender. You can do this with the skin on. When tender, peel off skin or if baked, scrape potato out with a spoon into a bowl.

Step 3: Add 1/2 C butter and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.

Step 4: Add 1 C. sugar, 1/2 C. milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, and 1 t. vanilla extract. With mixer, beat until all are combined and mixture is smooth.

Step 5: Pour into an unbaked pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into center comes our clean.

Tip: Cool completely before cutting. Serve plain or topped with Cool-whip or real whipped cream.

Real Old-Time Whipped Cream

• Chill a bowl and mixer beaters in freezer for 20 minutes.
• Pour 1/2 pint (1 C.) heavy whipping cream in chilled bowl. Add 2 T. sugar and 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract.
• Beat on high speed for about 1 minute or until stiff peaks form. Don’t overbeat or you will make butter!

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I am providing links to the pie plates we have always used… and a few more that caught my eye!

This is the pie plate my mother and grandmother used:

Here is a pretty ceramic one. I can just see a sweet potato pie in this one!

Here is an aluminum pie plate like my other grandmother used.

Links to 3 BOOKS

by Blog Author Anita Havens

THE TOPASHAW BOTTOM TERRORISTS

THAT’S WHY WE SANG THE BLUES

CHICKENBONE CHURCH REUNION (a murder mystery)