Welcome to Awe Nice, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com.

This week I interviewed Erin Nissen from Mosca, Colorado. Erin farms in the San Luis Valley which is known many things, but in our case, potatoes. Idaho may lead the nation in production, but the Valley still contributes mightily – some two billion pounds of potatoes a year.

Just a bit of vocabulary: the words "bin" and "plenum" refer to a specialized building where potatoes are stored. Thanks to careful control of humidity, airflow, and temperature, the Nissens can store millions of pounds of potatoes from October to May.

Also, a hundred weight is a sack of a hundred pounds of potatoes. So, a hundred thousand hundred weight is 10 million pounds.

Erin has heard from an old timer in the valley, who told her that in the fifties, when he was a kid, his elementary school class shrunk from 20 to six kids as people left due to the droughts.

We'll have images of mano and metate and the image of the storm and the mountains here.

By dedicating more acreage to cover crops and soil building, the Nissens have been able to increase potato yields. At first glance, this may be counterintuitive. I mean, if you have x number of acres, you should plant them all with potatoes, right? Not so. It's important to vary and to give the ground what it needs.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us at awenice.com. We thank Kershaw knives and Redmond salt for their generous sponsorship.

Music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a link to Forrest as well as an Awe Nice donate button here.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.