I Broke My Own Rule

So I had those new asparagus crowns that needed a bed as soon as possible, and I had really been struggling to find a spot for them.  Then my husband suggested putting them where my fingerlings were planted, which was in a deep 4' x 4' raised bed.  Of coarse I never even considered this (there were potatoes growing there after all), so I quickly rejected his thought.  And then just as quickly, I decided he was a genius.  But where to put the potatoes?  I had 2 grow bags left over, but that was not enough square footage.  And we have 2 old tires.  Bingo.  I REALLY didn't want to plant inside a tire, I feel the potential for chemical seepage must be quite high and there is certainly nothing 'organic' about that!  Carbon and sulfur are known to leach, though unless the tire is new or extremely worn, in theory that should be all.  Still, I just don't like it.  Okay for pansies, but not for potatoes.  But I did it anyway because I had potatoes with little green shoots and lots of roots laying in the lawn.  Time was of the essence.  And so here we are, I broke my own rule.  Next year the tire will be gone and I will find a new planting space for my fingerlings.  I promise.

This corner is now so unsightly, I can't even bear to look.  The asparagus now resides in the raised bed in the corner.

Next, we put together the bird net supports using the little rubber doohickeys from Lee Valley and babmboo.  They rock!  Didn't quite finish the job though seeing as the netting is still in the shed.  :)

Oooh, and here comes an exciting one......another new planting space (YEAH!).  I needed a home for my new teepees (more rubber doohickeys and bamboo), but the garden beds are all full.  So we made one:

Pole beans and Jack Be Little pumpkins were sown here.

I also planted the sweet potato slips (forgot to take a picture, and now it is raining), and some of the Garden Bon Bons my sister gave me for Christmas.  (The Bon Bon post can be found here.)  The bon-bons went in the metal wash-tub.  The tomato and cuke supports were finished off as well.  All in all a very productive weekend considering we had a family birthday party for the kids on Saturday afternoon, and took Ella out for celebrations on her actual birthday, which was Sunday.

...........And almost the entire garden from above: 

(conveniently all but that unsightly corner with the tire in it. ☺)

HAPPY GARDENING!

Garden Happenings

Potatoes going in Grow Bags, I believe I have 10 bags in all.  The bottoms were filled with a mixture of compost and potting mix, the seeds set in, and then covered with more mix and straw.

Here are the LaRatte Fingerlings in one bed, I planted this and another one slightly smaller.

The new grape and arbor was added onto the original behind the asparagus bed.  Behind the grapes is a new bed for 5 blackberries, and two raspberries....we are still in the construction phase as the canes have not arrived yet.  Still needing to find a spot for my second currant and rhubarb that is coming.  AAGGHH! Runing out of room!  So frustrating when we have almost 2 acres of land.

Some micro greens from today's thinning.  Beets, Radish, Chard, Arugula, and Hon Tsai Tai....YUM!

How cool do these currant buds look?  I had never seen them before, it is reminding of grape clusters.

I decided to use this tub as a planter for my 4 lowbush blueberries.  They remain quite small and only require a foot a piece, so this is snug but should do.  If not I will just transplant at a later date.

In addition to all the expansion and planting I sowed some more seeds today as well.  Things are finally coming together nicely thanks to a good friend who brought over a couple truckloads of dirt/compost for me.  The new beds are almost full, I am off to hill and cover the sweet potato bed up with black mulch...those slips will be here before I know it!!!
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Edit:  Those micro-greens made a mighty fine pizza topping for lunch!

One Potato- Two Potato- Three Potato- Four.....

Though the longer those batatas stay in the ground the better, I decided today was the day to dig the remaining sweet potatoes. My lack of patience was getting the better of me and besides, now I have new soil to sow more cold hardy seeds in. I may try sowing early carrots and small onion bulbs, covering them with a thick mulch of straw, and then with plastic for the winter to see what happens. Hopefully it will be spring carrots and larger summer onions! Anyway, back to the sweet potatoes....

Here are some photos of the excavation (next year I will plant them under black plastic in an effort to increase yields):

Here I have pulled the vines away and started to dig in, uncovering a couple of good size roots.

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This is a close-up of the root system coming down from the original slip. See that long skinny root above the tuber?

There it goes under the boards into the next bed. There are quite a few roots that decided to go next door, problem is my kale seedlings are growing above them.

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I was thinking some of these pieces may continue to grow and provide me with slips come Spring if I bring them indoors. Most are pencil thin 'tubers' only, one is a vine with a few roots, and lastly there is a small potato with a section of vine still attached. I planted them in with organic potting mix and some soil from the bed they were growing in and topped it all of with a thick layer of straw. Fingers crossed!

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And here is the less than ideal harvest. Nine potatoes in total from I forget how many slips....a couple died along the way. I am thinking there were 4 or 5 survivors. One did not produce any tubers at all, the sunflower roots took over it's territory completely.

Overall I am pleased to have home grown sweet potatoes under the cold and wet growing conditions, but I want MORE, MORE, MORE!!! I think I will attempt to double or triple my slip plantings next year and try more than one variety as well. (These are Beauregard and they came from Johnny's.) Another idea I may try is growing a few as container plants.

Steele Plant Company and George's Plant Farm out of Tennessee have piqued my interest for 2010. I did some follow-up over at Dave's Garden, the watch-dog site. The reviews were positive (Steele here, George's here) and people seemed pleased with their products. If you are looking for more information on growing, harvesting, or storing these beauties Mother Earth News has an informative article here. It's time for me to go fetch those potatoes from their sunny spot......their flavor will improve over the next month or so as starches covert to sugars, think I can wait that long??

Honey Bear

This little squash is recent product of breeding out of UNH, a personal size acorn that was a 2009 AAS winner. The fruits are small, around 4 inches according to sources, but my first little Honey Bear didn't quite make the mark. (It doesn't require any curing and should be enjoyed within a few months of harvesting, no problems there.)

I split this little gem in half and filled it with butter, brown sugar, sage, rosemary, and a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper. It was a tasty treat but I could have eaten three of them since I shared it with my husband. I hope the rest of the squash make it to 4 inches. The plant will average three or four fruits per plant so I am trying to decide if it is worth it...... the vine is quite compact making it a perfect variety for small spaces, containers, and square foot gardens which does detract some negativity from the few servings one would get out of the plant. Next year I plan on growing Sweet Dumpling as well. The fruit size is equal to that of Honey Bear but the vines are larger, thus they will need trellising, but will also put out 8-10 fruits per plant according to Johnny's. Here is a picture of the acorn before it went in the oven, pleasing to the eye for presentation on the plate, but not much to it.

For comparison's sake here is what I believe to be a Sweet Dumpling that I purchased from the CSA this week; A healthy sized squash, and what the Honey Bear should be. I placed a baseball next to it as it resembles my first Honey Bear in size. Quite a difference!

If the flavor is similar it will be a tough choice deciding between the two. Knowing me I will just grow both.

Yesterday was CSA day, here are the items included in the share:

• 4 ears of corn
• 2 tomatoes (small)
• 2 Asian Pears
• 2 apples
• 1 cuke
• 2 summer squash
• 1 lb. potatoes
• grapes (small portion, maybe 20 in all)

I really liked the variety in yesterday's pick-up and it was fun to have locally grown grapes for the first time.

Recently I sent away for some free seeds. I was not expecting the quantity or variety that arrived today, WOW! This is the "Winter Sowing" Assortment, well worth the stamped self addressed envelope. I received 6 varieties of flower seeds and 5 vegetable seed packets. These included a Winter Radish, Pak Choi, 'Winter Giant' Spinach, Black Cherry Tomato, and Egyptian Beets. Thanks WinterSown!!!

Winter Sowing is done outdoors during winter using mini-greenhouses made from
recyclables; there are no heating devices, no energy wasting light set-ups or
expensive seed starting devices. For free seeds and instructions go here: http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Free_Seeds.html