Neglect

I had a throw down with the potatoes this week and I think I won, but I won't actually know until I can figure out when to harvest them.  I have been neglecting the garden for a couple of weeks, because we have had lots of company.  I decided this week it was time to weed and finish up with covering the potatoes, and letting them grow until they are ready to harvest.  Now, I read lots of info on potatoes.  I discovered there are as many ways to grow potatoes as there are instructions.  I think, although it is hard to tell, because most of the instructions are not real detailed, but I think I have adopted a combination of strategies.  I did not actually dig a trench like some suggested, but I planted the seed potatoes, and then as the green plants were coming up, I mounded dirt around them.  I am quite possibly incorrectly assuming that this mound is where the actual potatoes will grow.  So when the mound of dirt was about 6 inches high, I decided to go to the next step, and cover it all up with straw.  Clever me.  I already had the straw, and so I took it out to the garden and covered the whole damn works with straw.  Then I actually started "thinking" about what I was doing and decided that just wasn't right.  So I came back in the house and searched the Internet for potato instructions.  Come to find out, leave the green part sticking out so it can get sunlight.  I finally found a picture of what it looks like when the potatoes are covered in straw.  The straw is nestled up tightly against the stems, but not covering the leaves.  So I have to go back out and rescue the smothered leaves.   I now have little mini haystacks out in my garden and these huge beautiful green plants getting bigger and bigger.  Like I said, I think I won, but I won't know until I actually start to harvest the potatoes.

Everything I read about the potatoes said that they take 2-4 months to grow, and I can muck around in the dirt trying to locate these tubers when they are ready to harvest.  I still can't figure out when they are ready.  I guess I will wait a while, and dig one up and see what it looks like.

The slugs had a hay day with my lettuce when I wasn't looking.  I put slug bait down, and then more slug bait.  It looks like I got em!!

I am losing the battle with the grass.  I think I am just too damn lazy.  There are so many other more urgent things to be done, like writing this blog, and playing Nintendo, and reading my newest  book.  I have vowed to go out every day and spend an hour harvesting the grass that has taken over my garden.  I can get about 1/2 inch of the garden area done in an hour.  This grass out there is wicked stuff.  Like I have mentioned before, it will outlive the cockroaches in a nuclear holocaust.  So I will keep plugging away, and hope that the grass doesn't choke out my food. 

Shockingly, the peppers and the popcorn are doing amazingly well.  I am just so surprised.  I did not think it was warm enough here.

Another thing....Consumer Reports rated the hanging, upside-down tomato plants as not very good.  Well, guess what, Consumer Report guys...my hanging tomato plant is the only one of 7 plants that has any fruit on it.  The tomato plant that I put it the basket was the same as the plants I planted in the garden.  It was one of the starts we purchased...same size and same variety.I got a tomato hanging out on my front porch.  It is still green, but it is there.  Pretty exciting stuff.

I have decided to compost, even if I don't get much material.  It is a good way to dispose of the end of the celery, and the organic stuff that I would normally put in the garbage.  It just seems like the right thing to do.  I have also solved the problem of the brown material on top of the composted stuff.  I let the grass and weeds that I pull out of the garden sit in the weed bucket for a week or so, and it all dries out and becomes brown material.  WOO HOO!!! So a little garbage, a few dried up weeds, some soil, and voila!!! Compost!!!  I am pretty excited about that too.  I don't actually have any compost yet, but the worms need a little time.  I mean, since that compost material is basically worm poop, and seriously, how much could one worm poop, I realize it will take a lot of time.  I can be patient.

Things are slowing down around here as far as company goes, so I should have more time for musings.  Until next time...all of you out there enjoy!!!

Karen