Early yesterday morning I dozed as it rained outside. It was a lovely April shower that took out the last remnants of snow. It was a nice enough week that I got out on my bike six days out of seven, even for ten-mile rides out past some rather rough looking farms. Things have not quite woken up and the ground is not yet ready for the plow, between cold and wet, but you can see the even rows that were disked last year.
Once the rain stopped, it turned out to be a nice day. Thinking about all the seed packets that advise they can be planted “as soon as the soil can be worked,” I got busy. Cold weather crops, let’s go.
I planted a whole bed of beets. In a bed they have to share with half a bed of garlic, I planted lettuces and parsnips (dedicating that space for the next six months!) Last week I added carrots and spinach to the cold frame, where other greens are already coming up.
I also may have found a solution for the peas. I planted them along a fence on the other side of the asparagus. I planted the asparagus on the “sun side” of the bed, which is a problem as the plants turn into large ferns, shading the other side of the bed. I’ve planted carrots on that shady side, but last year tried beans that didn’t thrive. But this year the peas will be finished, or happy for some shade, by the time the asparagus really start bulking up.
This week, my seed potatoes also arrived! First the box of La Ratte fingerlings and Sangre reds from Seed Savers. Then a very special package from Curzio Caravati of Kenosha and the Kenosha Potato Project. Curzio is the king of True Potato Seeds (TPS) in the US. His online group for the project on Facebook has members from Africa, Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia. That’s a lot of continents, and it’s great to see crops growing at all different times of year. And it’s also wonderful to hear the discussion of Kenyan, Ugandan, and Namibian farmers working to improve yields and maintain seed diversity.
Elmer’s Blue
About a month ago, I sent Curzio $20 and asked him to choose four varieties of potatoes to send me. I wanted a blue and a red and then just two others of any type. Thursday, I received a padded envelope with four little brown bags of potatoes. Elmer’s Blue, AA Peerless, Yungay/Papa Chola and Cups. Two are already starting to sprout. I’ll plant them in potato bags. Curzio recommends planting the whole potatoes, not pieces, if planting in bags/containers, to give the vines more strength. According to Curzio, the first three will provide loads of small potatoes, about the size of a large egg. Cups can get bigger if given space in the bag.
Also on the Kenosha Project Facebook page I saw instructions on making potato bags out of landscape fabric. You sew up one side and use a zip tie to close the bottom of the bag. This way you can put a light, fluffy mix in the bags to encourage growth. It’s a cheap way to make bags that can cost a lot on garden supply websites. Compost, peat moss, mushroom straw and vermiculite will be in my bags. The only challenge is keeping up with the watering, but I’m hoping for great success.
Today it didn’t get above 40 degrees. No bike rides, but I hauled out water to the newly planted beds and the cold frame.