Experimental Potatoes

Dug my potatoes just in time to beat the first snowfall. Now to dig out my grand-mother's recipe for new potatoes and peas in a cream sauce.
As a kid I always loved that dish.
Earlier this week I celebrated the cold weather, making chicken and dumplings for the first time. I planned to take a picture, but they were gone too fast.

The potatoes are an experiment in small space gardening.I planted them in half a whiskey barrel, and piled soil and straw around the plants as they grew. Wire mesh wrapped around the top of the barrel held the soil in place.

The whole thing was supposed to have filled with potatoes. The only ones I found were at the roots of the plants, just as if I had planted them in the ground.

Not sure why this didn't work. Anybody?
I did get them in a little late and found lots of tiny potatoes. If I try again next year, I'll start earlier.

My begonias survived the snow. Still beautiful.