Time to Plant Potatoes

The old tradition is to plant potatoes on Good Friday, which is April 10th. April 10th is a big day for me, since I'll be reading poetry at Village Books in Bellingham. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to spuds. Spuds can be planted earlier than this, but this is a good time for us here in the Pacific Northwest as it has finally warmed up. We are expecting 70 degree weather in places. Here in Bellingham, maybe 62--I'm hoping for higher. It'll be a lovely day to cut the spuds so there are a couple of eyes on each piece and mound them in rows.

Some of the varieties you might try, yellow fin, russet, red potatoes. Buy them from you seed and feed store or do like I do and cut up the spuds that are going to seed in the cupboard or the fridge. The sprouts and the plant parts are poisonous, so don't eat them. I once thought the sprouts would be good to eat, so was ready to when I had a inner sense that it wasn't a good idea. I'm good at listening to my intuition, thank goodness.

Right now the grandbaby is banking on the brass bowl that I use for meditation and rituals. Perhaps a ritual in the garden is a good idea and we are close to the full moon. A ritual for the garden so it will grow well and the garden spirits will come and help the garden to thrive.

Spring Spirits,
Flower

Spring Gardening

I suppose some gardeners have their plots ready to plant. They've added the chicken manure and had sifted out the roots clumps missed in the fall. I have done nothing--I admit it, I'm a bad gardener. I've been socializing, working on my writing and art, and learning to tango. But the truth is, when spring comes, the urge to get my hands in the soil becomes too strong to resist.

One of the first things to remember is, plant after the soil has warmed. If you plant too soon the seeds will rot in the cold, damp soil. You can plant indoors or in your cold frame. This will satisfy the early bird gardener. I've always found it interesting that the longer I wait, the faster the seeds sprout and the more quickly they grow.

Two early plants you might want to experiment with are peas and potatoes. Peas will need the soil to be warmed a bit too, as they also can rot. If you have trouble with birds nipping off the sprouts, cover your row with garden cloth, or you can cover the plants with upturned recycled plastic containers. I do this with zucchini so the plants aren't mowed down by slugs. The clear plastic makes like a little greenhouse for the plant to get off to a more flourishing start, too.

Okay, if you want to get out there--do. Have fun.

Ciao! Flower

Potato Lore

what came home
Originally uploaded by kingstongal

Growing potatoes in tires is something I've heard about doing, but have never tried. I've heard that you start with one tire--plant the spuds in nice soft soil in the center. The sun heats up the tire and the plants grow well. When the spuds come up, place another tire on top and add more soil. The potato plant has to grow up through the soil and all along the stems potatoes, producing a tremendous crop. I've also heard you can grow a mess of fingerling potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done either of these two potato growing things.

When I lived in Yakima I experimented with growing potatoes under straw. They didn't do much--although I got the theory. And I tried digging trenches and putting the spuds in and covering them with a mounded dirt. They didn't grow much differently than the usual method: spread the spuds across the area you want to plant, remember to have at least one eye per plant, and mound the dirt over each tuber. There should be a foot between each plant. Then just keep weeding and mounding the soil over the spuds as they grow.

It's important it is to rotate your crops, because they'll get stuff if you don't, like potato beetles. It's no fun having potato beetles, believe you me. You can pick them off, but they are nasty and who wants to deal with that. You can throw them to the chickens, if you have chickens. If not put them in a sack and throw them away.

Okay, more potato lore forthcoming.

Flower Power