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The Szawlowski uncles reminisce on times from their childhood when after school they would head straight to the potato field for work, sometimes with a pint of ice cream. Chet at 87 years old has been working at the farm for 83 years and was driving a tractor by the age of seven.
Part of the Szawlowski Potato Farms property that is unique is an old farm building that was the first structure on the farm and is symbolic for the Szawlowski family. Another unique aspect of the land is the clay soil. This type of soil holds rain especially well and with enough rain, the crops don’t have to be watered at all in some years. When the crops do need extra water, the farm is prepared with a center pivot irrigation system hooked up to the Connecticut river which.
At the time of filming the video in mid-June, the potatoes at Szawlowski Potato Farms had been planted for 40 days and the rows have not yet started to close. The potatoes will be harvested 40 days after row closure, which is when the potato plants above ground cover the space between each row of plants. Massachusetts is a great location for growing potatoes because they can be shipped out to major cities, such as Boston, in just a couple of hours.
In his free time, Colin Szawlowski can be found fishing out on the boat or eating his dad’s famous hand-cut fries.
