My garden plan...

[smwon]

3/20/08 Shredded the corn stalks today, it reduced them nicely, or was a bit more through than I would have been using an ax to reduce them as I was thinking about doing. Using it wasn’t too bad once we got the hang of it.

Reduced from this:



To this





That is going to be nice to use for my compost. Would have been great for the goats bedding as well! Maybe next year...

[Millymollymandy]

Wow! That shredder has really turned them into nice lovely compostable material! Hope you get your good weather so you can get on with all the rest of the jobs still needing doing. Good luck!

[smwon]

Thanks! Sunday I get to till it up and then comes the fun part... marking off all the beds and shoveling the walkways onto the beds to make the raised beds and then planting the plants I have started in the house and those seeds that I will plant outside in the garden... whew got tired and ache just talking about it!

[smwon]

I found this the other day when I was looking at our soon to be refurbish goat barn. I am sure it is a home made strawberry barrel. Now with the link (below) from The Mother Earth News, I know how to use it.



http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic- ... arrel.aspx

[smwon]

3/21/08 My sweet potato plants are growing nicely, however, I discovered that only the ones submerged in water are starting to have roots. The potato themselves have roots, but not the ‘slips’. So today I emptied a large 2 lb coffee can, put the potatoes in so that they are completely submerged. I had to add a rock to keep them under the water because they wanted to float. Now we will see if they all develop roots so I can plant them come April 6th, four weeks after the last 28°F frost date.

I have also started putting my flats that are in the house outside to help harden them off for transplanting in the garden the 25th. I left them outside for one hour yesterday and 2 hours today. By the end of the week they should be ready to transplant.

[Millymollymandy]

Translation time!

What are flats?

Also, I have heard people talking about sweet potato slips, but don't know what that is either.

P.S. Strawberry barrel looks great!

[smwon]

A flat…



Slips are the sweet potato plant started on the potato tuber. Later when you are ready to plant you are supposed to be able to just pull it off the tuber to plant in the soil. Here, it seems to be the only way anyone starts sweet potatoes. However, in other countries aren’t they just put in the ground like Irish Potatoes? I would like to try that next time.

[Millymollymandy]

I guess I would call that a seed tray!

And I've never grown sweet potatoes - I think you need a hotter climate for them. I know my mum tried once but just got a decorative plant which didn't make any babies.

Irish potatoes? Is that just ordinary potatoes?

The language lessons are fun on this forum!

[smwon]

Irish potatoes? Is that just ordinary potatoes?

The language lessons are fun on this forum!

I should have said russet potatoes... I think I read someone calling them Irish poatoes. Can get confusing, eh?

[Millymollymandy]

I had to Google russet potatoes too, never having heard of them! Sounds like that is just an American (from Idaho apparently!) variety of potato. OK so have you ever heard of Belle de Fontenay or Ratte?

[smwon]

Belle de Fontenay

waxy potatoes: translucent, moist feel.
Stay firm and make great salad potatoes.

floury potatoes: brighter, drier feel.
Best for fluffy potatoes or mash.

And

Ratte

'LaRatte' Potatoes

Sub-Category: Late Season

Description: Late-season. Fingerling tubers with yellow, finely netted skin and deep-yellow, waxy, nutty flesh. Good storage. Good resistance to scab. Medium-sized, spreading plants. Also known as 'La Ratte'. 'Princess LaRatte' is essentially identical.

Days To Maturity: NA-NA

Seed Sources: Fedco Seeds, http://www.fedcoseeds.com/
Ronniger's Potato Farm, http://www.ronnigers.com/
Seed Savers Exchange, http://www.seedsavers.org

But I did have to look it up! and I do recall seeing the LaRatte in the Fedco catalog now that I looked them up!

And actually now that I am reading and writing this... I think I ordered some 'LaRatte' Potatoes from Fedco cause I wanted a fingerling potato. They don't ship till April though.

[Millymollymandy]

Fngerling! Another new word! I do get what that means though!

Ratte variety are considered one of THE best for taste in France. They have to be eaten as small new potatoes though.

I have never seen potato skins looking like your Russet ones though, and on Googling, it does seem that in the US 'Irish potatoes' is a term used to differentiate from sweet potatoes.

I suppose as sweet potatoes are not very common in Europe we just say potato to mean potato. Or spud!

[mrsflibble]

omg my whole plot is, I think, only slightly larger than your garden and I have a house in the middle of it.... here's an aerial photo of my whole plot with a scale....

[smwon]

Wow that is a small plot, much like our city lots. We live in the country away from any major city and have one and a third acres. The nearest major city is about 28 miles away. We do have some tiny towns around us, but if you blink once you would miss them! They do have small 'country' stores though so it is convenient to run and get a gallon of milk or something. With gas prices the way they are here, it really isn’t all that ‘convenient’!

[smwon]

Today we till the garden. After, the work will really begin!