April 6, 2009 ~ Potato Boxes and Horse Monsters

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Spring was being its usual fickle self and the weather turned cold again. However we had potatoes to plant today.





Early in the year I had mentioned to my dad that I'd like to try potato boxes. I'd grown potatoes before and they were so good. Much better than store bought. But I knew room in our garden would be scarce. Vertical gardening is really helpful when you can get the right apparatus to assist you.

My dad liked the idea and offered to build the boxes for us and for him as well, using mostly wood from our pile at the back of the property and some scraps from his deck. The boards he had used were the new type of compressed boards that have a lifetime guarantee.






The recommended varieties for this type are smaller, fingerling potatoes. So that's what you see here. We put in Yellow Finn, Red Pontiac, and Russian Banana.





Michael is down in the garden area getting some soil to cover the seed potatoes to a depth of 4 inches. We will mix it with some potting soil.





And now we wait until the stems grow above the soil til we have to do anything more.

We are still planting more flats, and having to bring them in and out of the house as weather demands. It takes 1/2 hour for each time we move them.

I am not sure I would do this again. The cat really challenged us, having to protect them from her. We not only had the chicks in the spare bedroom, but also the flats anywhere we could find to put them. It was smelling like the great outdoors, for certain. Also, when it did not actually freeze, we left the plants outdoors. The problem with that is the roots like to be warm. So if the roots are below about 60 degrees, the plants don't grow at all. For a couple of weeks, the spring weather was quite chilly. We did not gain as much ground as we had hoped.










The horses, playing "Oooooh, The Wind and the Wheelbarrow are Scaaaaaaaaarrry!"







Planning and hoping for a greenhouse this coming winter.

Faith

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