Potatoes have always been a main crop on P.E.I.

Before mechanical harvesters and trucks were used, all these potatoes were picked by hand. Every farm grew two or three acres.

There were different types of diggers, usually the beater type where a blade slid under the potato row, and the beater would fling the soil and potatoes, spreading everything across several feet. The potatoes would hopefully land on top, being a bit lighter than the soil.

Then people would pick up the potatoes into baskets, and dump into bags or a horse-drawn cart. All the potatoes were stored in house basements (clay floors, stone walls), to be bagged and sold during the winter.

All the country schools closed for two weeks in early October. Students were the labour force to harvest this very important crop.

As told to me by Clarence MacLeod of Upper Montague, their own potatoes were dug and picked and stored. Wanting to make some extra cash, he and his sister were able to go to a farm in the area to help. They walked over at sun up, picked potatoes all day, and it was dark when they got home. This was repeated the next day.

At the end of the second day, the crop was all picked. The farmer handed them a $5 bill and said, “You kids did good.”

Submitted by Peter Verleun, April 2026.