Sunday was a busy day around our place. I had some tomatoes that needed repotting and potatoes that needed planting. I really should have put the potatoes in the ground a few weeks ago. Especially since the winter here was so mild. But one thing would pop up and then another. Or the weather would be gorgeous during the week when I was too busy and then it would rain buckets on the weekend.
Plus, I needed to decide exactly how I was going to plant the suckers this year. Potatoes are not my area of success. They should be. I am vaguely Irish. It should be genetic, shouldn’t it? And I love them. A lot. I have the same relationship with potatoes in all their wonderful forms that some women have with chocolate.
In the past I have ordered seed potatoes from very reputable (and expensive) seed companies and I have picked up seed potatoes from the local big box home improvement place. Neither attempt worked out. I wasn’t really planning on trying again this year, but you know how sometimes you buy some potatoes with every intention of turning them into something and then for some reason it doesn’t happen? You don’t? Oh. Okay. Me, either. Soooo…. I bought some potatoes, and then I intentionally didn’t cook them and I intentionally left them under the counter to intentionally start growing. That’s exactly how it happened. So I had some seed potatoes.
I only buy organic potatoes to eat by the way. Potatoes have a thin skin and when fertilizers and pesticides are sprayed they stew in them in the dirt, unlike the fruit and veggies of above ground plants which have the benefit of being washed off by the rain. Also, if you haven’t seen this experiment by a young girl and the effects of bud nip, you really should.
I decided to go with the potato condo again this year. I made it last year and I did manage to get a few tiny spuds, so I thought I’d try again this year. I moved them to a different spot, this year. I’m not sure if that will help or not. I think they were getting cooked in the afternoon, so in the new location they will have afternoon shade. I had three different random varieties floating down in my cabinet. Three scraggly looking red potatoes (I actually think I did intentionally save those.), two Russets, and four Yukon Golds. The Russets and the reds are bunked down together, and the Yokons are in their own condo. As the plants grow, I’ll add a bit of compost and straw (I think.) and add boards to the condo. Supposedly, you can get quite a yield with this method. I suppose we’ll see.
I did find a surprise while I was working in the spot where the taters were last year. BABIES! I covered them back up and marked the place. I’m not expecting anything to really happen there, but stranger things have happened.
Stay tuned to the next exciting episode where tomatoes are transplanted (yet again!) and dastardly pests stalk their delicious leaves. War has been declared… Who will win? The gluttonous mystery insect? Or the green murderous gardener? Until next time… happy growing!
