1

A Potato Field in Blossom
August, 2003
Milburn, Prince Edward Island, Canada

2

Today, potatoes are Prince Edward Islands primary crop.
Things were not always good for the potato crop. It is ironic that the Irish, fleeing the spectre of famine in Ireland in the 1840's found potato blight on the Island.
Prince Edward Island was the first province to produce seed potatoes and shipped its first load of seed potatoes in 1918. Today, more than half of Canada's seed potatoes come from P.E.I. and they are shipped to over twenty countries.

3

Planting potato sets by hand
1993
Cascumpec, Prince Edward Island

4

Planting sets by hand. This method is known as planting by tuber unit.
Until mechanized potato planters were developed, a person carrying a shoulder bag of seed potatoes followed behind the horse-drawn moldboard plow and driver dropping the seed potatoes about one foot apart in the furrow. Another pass of the plow pushed the soil over the seeds.

5

a potato knife
1950
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, Canada

6

A Potato Knife
The handle of the knife was wrapped with cotton and taped to help prevent blistering of the hands.

7

a Hiller or Horsehoe
1900
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, Canada

8

Hillers move loose soil from the inter-row space along the potatoo row, depositing extra soil near the plants. This soil cover protects potato tubers growing near the surface from frost damage and greening.
Modern farm technology has invented hiller equipment mounted directly on the tractor that is operated hydraulically.

9

Bug Picker
1910
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, Canada

10

The Hunter Potato Bug Picker was patented and produced at Dundas, P.E.I., in 1894. The device consisted of two paddles and a catching pan mounted on a single wheel. It was pushed by hand, like a wheelbarrow, between the rows. The bugs were knocked from the leaves onto the pan containing kerosene oil and then destroyed by setting the contents on fire.
These machines were very popular for a time.

11

Shaker Digger
1870
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, Canada

12

One type of potato digger was the shaker digger which was drawn by a team of horses. The shaker had a wide, pointed shear to slice the row below the tubers. The potatoes, tops and soil were pushed upwards onto a grate-like structure which shook up and down sifting out much of the soil while the potatoes dropped off the sides.

13

Elevator Digger
1910
O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, Canada

14

Early elevators diggers were driven by steel wheels with steel lugs and drawn by mostly four horses. In the 1950's elevator diggers were mounted on rubber tires and driven by power take-off from the tractor.