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| Click photos to enlarge. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Picking Up the Potatoes with the Harvester | | |
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| When the potatoes are big enough, the harvesting process begins. A machine called a windrower makes the first pass. The windrower basically picks up a number of potato rows or “drills”, sifts the potatoes out of the soil, and
lays them in the rows beside it. The harvester then passes through the
field, picking up two drills and the potatoes that have been windrowed
between them. Usually the harvester picks up a total of eight drills in total every pass through the field. The harvester basically consists of a spade that travels under the soil, picking up a pair of drills. A series of perforated belts carries the potatoes through the harvester while sifting out the soil. The harvester used on our farm was designed and built on P.E.I. and
has a large blower that literally blows the dirt and debris off the potatoes and out the back of the harvester. A truck with a potato box travels alongside the harvester and receives the potatoes. |
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