Spring and Summer

As spring gives way to summer and we enjoy lovely warm sunny days intermingled with impressive thunderstorms, the garden continues to grow nicely. The potatoes are growing at an almost visible pace...

 

I am only half-joking when I comment to Nick that one of these days I expect to wake up to find the potato plants knocking on the window, asking to come in.

The eggplant transplants were a bust - after two weeks they had not visibly grown. That is two years running with no luck growing eggplants - I think our soil is simply not nutritious enough for them. I pulled them out and seeded broccoli in their place. Broccoli elsewhere in the garden, on the other hand, is growing nicely...

The pea plants, as seen in the background of the above photo, are growing like gangbusters. Last weekend there were perhaps two or three of them flowering, and the plants were about halfway up the trellis. This weekend the plants are 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the trellis, there are flowers everywhere, and in some places there are tiny little pea pods growing. It's actually kind of adorable.

Our strawberry plants, which a coworker gave me last year, are flowering and fruiting nicely this year. I have them encased in chicken wire to keep the squirrels out, which is working thus far. The fruits are not super-sweet, but they do have a nice depth of flavor. I don't know if it's possible to add things to the soil to make them sweeter?

The kale is looking good as well. Much better than last year, I think in part due to weather and in part due to my obsessive use of Sluggo to keep the slugs off (thanks for the tip, Claire). I am especially excited about the Lacinato kale, as it's my favorite.

Of course, a springtime post would not be complete without a photo of one of the gorgeous peonies that graced the yard. I'm usually not one for bright pink but these are just amazing. Alas, I cannot bring cut blooms inside because my older cat eats them, so outside they will stay. Enjoy!

Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to

It's May, and spring is here in full force! Sunny skies and warm temperatures with the occasional sprinkling or rain or even a thunderstorm...I love spring. So does the garden! From the snap peas growing gleefully up their trellis, to flowering strawberries, to the radishes already reaching harvest size, the garden veggies and greens are happy.

Another project that is also working out well for us thus far is our bin of potatoes. From my sister-in-law, we had heard tales from one of her farming internships about growing potatoes layered atop each other in milk crates filled with soil, and we were intrigued. I found a modified version online using a large trash can, and decided to give it a go.


Months ago we ordered Purple Viking Potatoes from Southern Seed Exchange. They arrived in March, and spent a couple of weeks sitting in the sun in the guest room. I placed the "seed end" uppermost, where more eyes are clustered, and waited until the eyes started to sprout. Once that happened I cut the potatoes into smaller pieces, and then put them aside so as to prepare the can.

First I drilled many holes in the bottom and the lower sides of the trash can for drainage, and then layered 4 inches of pea gravel in the bottom. Atop of this went 6 inches of potting soil. Then came the potatoes; half of them spread evenly over the soil. Over the potatoes went a bag's worth of compost/soil mix. This was thick and clay-like, and we were concerned that the potatoes would have trouble growing up through it. However, my concerns were unfounded, as within two weeks we noticed the first few leaves poking through the soil.

The potatoes may have been a bit slow to start, but within 2 days of one potato sprout first appearing, all of the rest showed up as well.

Their growth was steady and rapid; we were blown away by how quickly they flourished.

Once the potato greens had grown about 6 inches above the top level of the soil (this weekend), we added the remainder of the potatoes and covered them with another bag of soil. We covered the original potato greens about 2/3 of the way (this is called mounding).

Now all of the potatoes have been planted, and we will check them regularly as the new sprouts join the old. If we had more potatoes, we could potentially keep layering, but this is a good start for now.