Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes

Farmer in the Annapolis Valley. Husband, father to 2 boys. Steward of the land and tractor enthusiast. Man of few words and many pictures.

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Blast from the past this am as I desperately tried to find mug for my coffee this morning. Circa 2003. @dalagriculture

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Next year this field will have strawberry plants in it, so this year we spend building up the soil with crops like rye, and this mustard that Katie and our oldest were seeding today.

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

Beautiful slips!

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

By the end of planting we will have approximately 1.4 million slips in the ground.

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

Our first shipment of sweet potato slips arrived today. Tomorrow, we will start planting!

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Fertilizing and laying black mulch getting ready for the sweet potatoes slips

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

My peace and quiet after all the other workers have gone home for the day . Also loving this new John Deere 155R rental for pulling sweet potato 🍠 hills

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

It’s a beautiful day in the Valley so we are out planting our foundation field. 28 varieties going in that will supply customers next year. 🍓

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

Our local Foodland has helped us out again by getting in some staples from the Jamaican food supplier that we were having trouble finding for the men. They have helped make the entire grocery shopping process easier for us this season. Thanks to Jerry and his team!

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Working up the next strawberry plant 🍓 field tonight so we will be ready 7AM to start planting

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

I got super lucky this week winning an AWESOME Facebook Contest from @BarrellingTide! Phil may have been the one to pick up the prize, but most of this will be saved for an epic post-covid girls night! 😁 He has claimed that bottle of rum for himself though!

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

This is foundation stock (strawberry plants) planted April 18th, you can already see new white roots growing - exactly what we like to see!

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Started planting strawberry plants today after a 5 min course on how to plant I still had to explain to our new works which end of the plant should be in the soil 😂. #planting2020 #strawberry

[Dal Ag Campus @dalagriculture]

For Janice and Larry Lutz growing their farming operation has been a humbling and rewarding experience. #ThankaFarmer https://t.co/9rqmB8FP90 @Dal_Alumni

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

With everything going on questions are coming from the public over supply, our food chain, & how 🇨🇦 farms produce what’s on store shelves.
Check out the @RealFarmLives web series for a glimpse into modern 🇨🇦 Ag. 2 Seasons, 5 families, a variety of crops!

https://t.co/QxiopteNed

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

‘We all have to eat (...) by supporting local we’re supporting a safe and sustainable food supply.’ - Charlie, Live on @CTVNews just now.

#CdnAg @HorticultureNS @NSFA

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

Planting is set to begin this weekend. Jay, one of our new local employees, started adding walls between each seat on the transplanter today. This is one measure we can take for some added protection for everyone where 6 foot spacing isn’t possible. #CdnAg

[Katie Keddy @VHsweetpotatoes]

Local businesses are stepping up in big ways during these uncertain times. Today, Phil picked up and order of hand sanitizer from @BarrellingTide. When this is all over I highly highly recommend their rhubarb gin as well!

[Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes @PhilKeddy]

Spreading fertilizer tonight getting ready to transplant strawberry’s Saturday. This will the the earliest in 5 years for us so we hope for a good growing season and markets this fall 🤞

[Dalhousie Alumni @Dal_Alumni]

We’re back for episode 2 of Open Dialogue Live on April 16. This week our #DalhousieU experts will examine the impact of #COVID19 on food. Mark your 📅 and join the conversation: https://t.co/pR9bUP2qnc (🏷️ @dalagriculture @FoodProfessor)