Friday, April 12, 2013

Potatoes are in the ground!

My potatoes, both wintered over in the crisper and bought in (more Blue Adirondack from Lowe's!) were laid out on paper in plastic trays pre-sprouting for almost three weeks. Here's what a tray of russets looked like just before planting-- they should look a bit wrinkly and tired because the energy is moving into the new growth:


I plant potatoes outside the fenced garden, because they are rarely nibbled by my resident rabbits and woodchuck, and grow back fast.  I am also careful to plant them only where no other nightshades (including tomatoes and eggplant) have been grown for 3 years.
Here's a raised bed, deeply dug, and dusted with a generous handful of bone meal:


The seed potatoes are stuck into the trench with the sprouts up, than backfilled with about half the soil-- the rest will be hilled up from the sides as the plants grow-- here they are just before backfilling:


Yes, I can buy potatoes easily, but the fingerlings and blues I grow are expensive, and  the russets and Yukon Golds are largely trouble free and very productive. And I love the treasure hunt of digging them up in the fall!

Here's a basket full of last year's harvest: