Potatoes' Progress. 5.9.22

With so much rain and not-bone-chilling weather (not warm, just cool and perfect for potato plants), the potato plants are growing like gangbusters.

The first rows, sprouted grocery spuds, needed to have their trenches filled in.  I'm behind on that due to back problems, but getting better.  I tried to be ergonomic, not put my back into it, and fill in the major parts where the plants were largest.  Those were planted Feb 13.  I think.  So this is three months of growing, but the first part of that quite cold.

The ones I bought as official seed potatoes in March, and planted March 12, are growing equally well.  I had dug trenches about a foot  deep, piling the soil between the rows.  Now I'm filling those embankments back into the trenches around the potato plants.  Between my physical limitations and the rains, weeds grew like weeds (LOL).  Most of those get sort of incidentally removed as I relocate the soil back into the trenches around the potato plants.  It's not "Martha Stewart" classy, but then I'm more Betty Crocker than Martha Stewart, anyway.  Or Fred Flintstone, who is much younger than me.

Then I fed these plants with some soluble tomato fertilizer.  I prefer organic but we cant always be perfect about these things.  Potatoes are heavy feeders when young, and we want them to grow strong and produce generously.

Meanwhile, almost all of the other potato starts are emerging from the ground.  The most recent rows, from mid April, show new plants here and there.

Here are the first red potatoes (sprouted grocery spuds) that I planted in the big container planter on April 6.   So in less than a month, we have robust, healthy looking plants.  I had mixed organic tomato fertilizer with the soil, per label instructions.  They are not ready to fill in soil around the plants yet.  Soon.

Here are the Envol, super early variety from Fedco in Maine, which I planted roughly April 10, same method.

Things can change, but so far it looks like it will be a good potato year.  With higher food prices, that seems like a good thing.

Meditation Garden. 5.9.22

 Here are some photos of the meditation garden, also called the deer park garden because deer cone through here.  zit's sort of the blue season there, mostly Camassia and a few Hiacinthoides.

In addition to the fig trees that were already there, off the top of my head here are some of the established plants that I moved there over the past few months -

About a dozen big Camassia clumps.

Several clumps of Hyacinthoides

2 clumps of Crocosmia "Lucifer"

Several divisions of Horseradish.

4 divisions of rhubarb.

A half dozen large rosemary plants, but I think only 2 or 3 are surviving.

About a dozen sage plants.

About a dozen lavender bushes

Three Itoh peonies

Three clumps of Leucojum (large snowdrops).

About 5 daylilies (Transplanted two today).

Several divisions of lamb's ears.

A big helleborus.

A dozen sedums.

About a dozen forsythias that I started, closer to the fence, eventually for more privacy.

I'm sure I've forgotten some things.

Of new perennial starts from seeds, I've planted several six packs of Rudbeckias, two six packs of Coreopsis, a six pack of Gallardia, A six pack of Ratibida, six packs of common milkweed, tropical milkweed, four O'Clocks, echinacea, carnations, and some statice (I think the statice will be annual, maybe the carnations too).   I'm sure I've forgotten some things there too.

This summer I'd like to dig up some batches of spring bulbs that are abandoned around the yard, and plant those too.

I still have some room for summer annuals, which will be zinnias, lots of  marigolds, cosmos, cleome.  I out up the beginning of a privacy trellis for Morning Glories, which I already planted and growing, and sweetpeas which are already growing.

The common themes for everything, are drought tolerance, not appetizing to deer, adapted to this climate, and something to attract lots of bees and other pollinators.  I already know the established plants that I moved fit those criteria, because they are from this yard and grow happily here already.  if deer do eat something, I wont mind and I wont add to my efforts to protect it.  As for watering, I might do some minimally to get things established, but all of the established plants already proved themselves during the past dry seasons anyway.

Carnation Update. 2.9.22

 Like statice, I've never grown carnations before.  (Actually I might have but I don't remember and it wasn't here).  After losing the first batch, I didn't know if it was the timing, the pitting soil, or the cool weather.  So I planted a few more six packs of seeds.  I think the ones that did the best were the ones I planted in the larger silicone six-packs, but all did OK.

On April 8, I planted the first batch in one of the large containers in the container planter I built.  I kept the others indoors at night, outdoors during the day, until recently.  Here is how the first ones look today.

The irrigation lines should be hooked up in a week or two.    I think these are growing pretty nicely.  Last week I planted the second batch in another container, but outside the deer fence as a test.  Plus I didn't know where else to put it.  I also planted a couple in the ground in the meditation garden.  Today, I planted the rest of them in the ground there too.

I hope the early planting will give some nice flowers.  I read somewhere that deer wont eat them.  I don't know if the need a lot of water.  I think they might be fairly dry tolerant.  It's fun trying these plants that I haven't grown before.

Statice Status Report 😀. 5.9.22

 The statice plants that I set out in the large container bed on April 8, are looking pretty good.    Not growing by leaps and bounds, but they are growing and looking sturdy.  The red color had at first is more green-ish now.  The tubing is for irrigation lines I will install soon.

 The statice seedlings that I held back from planting outdoors in April, because I didn't know if it was too early, are a little smaller and the leaves have a more red - ish tint.  Kind of maroon, sort of.  They have been sitting in the vegetable bed for a week or two, pending being planted.  I planted them outdoors today.

  It's interesting, they look a lot like dandelions or similar weeds.  Also, they have a red taproot.

These are interesting plants.  I bet that taproot will give them good drought tolerance.   It's a good thing I didn't wait longer to plant them.   I planted four in a large container, and three in the ground in the meditation garden.  

Getting Dahlias Started Again. 5.9.22

 Last fall I dug up the dahlia tubers, pruned off the tops, let them dry out, and stored in boxes of peat moss over the winter, in the unheated, attached garage.  I gave the boxes of peat moss a little water during the winter but not much.  Maybe once or twice.

Today I got them out.  The actually look pretty good, and are starting to sprout.

I used a pruning saw to split a couple of them in half.  It's hard to have any finesse about it, because the tubers are all packed in there together.

Then I planted three of them.  My neighbor says that deer don't eat hers.  I don't know.  I planted the first three in  the blackberry enclosure, which has the room.  I might plant others in the open as a test,