The Snarky Gardener entered his vegetables in the local county fair. Now the Snarky Girlfriend will never hear the end of it.
The Snarky Gardener with his award-winning zucchini
A little while back, the Snarky Girlfriend picked up this year’s Portage County Randolph Ohio fair book. She thought it would be cool for us to enter some items just for fun. She had some photos she wanted to enter, including one of my dog River. According to the rules, our entry forms had to be in by 8/5 even though the entries needed to be onsite when the fair started two weeks later. Telling the future is hard with garden produce, though I did have the option to enter and then just not have them. Going with a conservative first-timer approach, I perused the book, looking for viable vegetable categories.
Vegetables not quite ready for the big show:
1. Tomatoes and peppers – behind all year with cool wet weather
2. Corn – a few weeks off, not sure they would be ready by then
3. Beans – they wanted a quart of beans and I didn’t have that many.
4. Swiss chard – would rather eat it then enter it
5. Carrots – not enough and/or too small
Showable Vegetables:
1. Red potatoes – Red Chieftain
2. Golden potatoes – Yukon Golds
3. Kale – Red Russian
4. Turnips – Purple Top
5. Zucchini Under 10 inches- Sure Thing from Burpee
We dropped them off on Sunday 8/17, the day before the first day of the fair. Right away I realized something was amiss. People with kale and Swiss chard were using jars of water to keep them hydrated. The fair book said to do this, but somehow I didn’t pick up on it (oh well – lesson learned). On the plus side, we didn’t see any other turnip entries, so I knew I had a good chance of winning something in that category. The turnips I entered were far from perfect, as they had pits and marks on them. From the Internet articles I read after the fact, fair entered vegetables should all be little clones of each other and as close to retail sale quality as possible.
On Thursday (a long 4 days later), we attended the fair with some friends to see how I did (at least that’s how I saw it). They seemed to be interested in other things first, like seeing the Snarky Girlfriend’s pictures (she won a second place ribbon for a flower picture), and eating fair food. Finally we arrived at my vegetables and lo and behold, some had ribbons! Two firsts and a second (yeah). My red potatoes didn’t win (3rd place out of 3) as they were noticeable smaller and less uniform than the other competing entries. But my Yukon Golds won second place (out of 4) – not bad at all. My sad turnips garnered a first place ribbon as they had no competition. But the topper was my zucchini which earned 1st place out of five. Mine seemed to look the most like the ones you see at the grocery store. Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to spend all the prize money on. I wonder what I can purchase for $5.50?
Zucchini 10″ and Under – First Place out of 5Root Vegetables – Turnips – 1st place out of 1Golden Potatoes – 2nd Place out of 4
The Snarky Gardener writes an abundance of words about abundance. Imagine that.
Too many snow peas? I think not.
To the Snarky Gardener, abundance means having plenty (even too much) of a thing. Often people are concerned with what they can’t grow or what’s not doing well because of pests, lack of sunlight, or poor soil. But if you take this “problem” and turn it on its head with abundance, your mindset totally changes. The question, “What can I grow a boat load of?”, offers up all kinds of possibilities. I believe food growers should build upon their successes, with new and experimental plants taking only a small amount of total resources, and removal of those that produce poorly. At Snarky Acres, that means growing more sunchokes, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas, kale, garlic, onions, greens, zucchini, corn, Swiss chard, comfrey, and herbs (especially perennials like mint, lemon balm, oregano, and sage). It also means growing less (or no) broccoli, watermelon, peppers, eggplant, spinach, and beets. It’s hard to stop trying with those fruits and vegetables we love to eat, but not everything grows well everywhere, even in the same relative climate.
Too much mint or not enough mojitos?
How to create abundance:
1. Grow a lot more of what grows well.
2. Look for alternative resources (weeds, trees, native species)
3. Create environments where abundance happens naturally (perennials and self-seeding plants)
4. Save seeds, plant extra starts (tomatoes, etc), and start new plants from cuttings.
5. Grow in non-optimal spaces (shade, poor soil)
6. “Invasive” also means “Abundance”
How to utilize abundance:
1. Find trading partners (food swaps, seed swaps, time banks, neighborhood barter systems)
2. Learn to preserve (canning, freezing, drying)
3. Find other uses (dynamic accumulators, medicinal)
4. Learn to create products from your produce (extracts, salves, pesto)
The Snarky Gardener is ready for the growing season
The Snarky Gardener at an apple pruning workshop – 3/29/2014
Spring has been a fun and interesting time to be a snarky gardener. I’ve taken in some workshops, and taken in some new edible varieties. Last year was all about growing my own starts and saving seeds. This year so far seems to be about expanding my knowledge, contacts (through Food Not Lawns and the Kent Community TimeBank), and perennial plantings.
In March I took two workshops – one for bee keeping and one for tree pruning. Looks like bees will be a future project though now I’m now a member of the Stark County (Ohio) Beekeepers Association (even have a cool membership card in my wallet). A very passionate group but I’m not quite ready to have so many little lives dependent on me. The tree pruning workshop did pay immediate benefits as there’s an old apple tree way in the back yard. I’m not real fond of getting up on a ladder but the tree is 30 feet tall so not much a choice. It did produce (small and holey) fruit last year and I’m hoping for better this season. In early May, I attended a WordPress “camp”, where I picked up new knowledge to help these blog entries and this site be better for you. I also concluded my permaculture class prematurely as my schedule has been full as of late.
May 2014 Garden Plan
With permaculture slowly but surely changing my point of view, I’ve taken some steps to make my domain more permanent and perennial. My two part article written earlier this year discussed perennial plant possibilities and I’ve taken steps to make them reality. For the Snarky Garden, Egyptian Walking onions, ground nuts, mushrooms, strawberry spinach, and perennial kale (from Territorial) will be added to compliment already established sunchokes, strawberries, corn salad (via self seeding) and comfrey. The whole north part (top in the plan) is evolving into only perennials. I’ll never move to a whole perennial garden (I love tomatoes and potatoes too much), but half would be nice. Also, my foraging is getting more serious with grazing of garlic mustard, dandelion greens, hostas and violets picked right out of the yard. I wanted to do maple syrup, but missed the February/March window, but there’s always next year.
Garlic MustardEgyptian Walking Onions from the Kent Community TimeBank
A nice sunny spot with just a little afternoon shade and lots of leaf mulch
1. Chose a nice sunny spot
Spend some time to observe your chosen spot. You are going to want at least 3 hours of direct sunlight a day with more than 6 preferred. If you can’t get the minimum 6, then look for plants that will be OK with a little shade, like lettuce, herbs, Swiss chard, kale, spinach, turnips, and mustard greens. Another option is to plant in containers and move them to the sunny spots throughout the day.
Next to the house, a small shade herb garden (mint, chives, etc) which only receives a few hours of direct sunlight a day.
2. Start small
Don’t go hog wild with a giant garden first thing out. Keeping it small will allow you to learn what grows best in your area without a lot of investment of time, money, and effort. Containers or a 4 foot by 4 foot raised bed would be a good place to start.
Zucchini, corn, and beans (around the corn) – three of my favorites to eat3. Grow what you like to eat
Sounds straight forward, but I’ve known a few snarky gardeners to grow things before they know how they taste (like me with my sunchokes). If you think you want to grow it, buy it from the store first.
Easy peasy peas
4. Grow easy stuff
Some vegetables are easier to grow than others, by a significant margin. Talk to people in your area to learn what grows well in your area. For instance, in Northeastern Ohio (my neck of the woods), cherry tomatoes, beans, peas, onions, zucchini, potatoes, and turnips do well with little trouble. Broccoli, watermelons, Brussels sprouts, peppers, and eggplants are much harder to grow, to the point I’ve given up on some.
The lawn sweeper makes gathering leaf mulch simple
5. Mulch a bunch
Mulch is anything that covers the ground around your plants. Straw, grass clippings, newspapers, wood chips, and leaves (my favorite) all make good mulch. You can also use plastic mulch, but it won’t make your soil better over time like organic materials will. Covering the ground is important as it will keep weeds from overtaking your edible plants plus it holds in moisture which will keep you from having to water as much (or at all!)
Snarky Acres in the fall
6. Visit often
Gardens are probably ruined by neglect more than anything else. Visit a few times a week to keep up with the weeds, watering, and ready to pick food. Think of it as that exercise your doctor keeps telling you need to do. I find the garden as a quiet place to get away from it all. Also, try to plan around the weather (early or late on hot summer days, etc).
7. Learn about food seasons
Turnips love the cold.Turnips at Christmas in Northeastern Ohio
Some plants can tolerate and sometimes prefer cold (like spinach, turnips, onions, peas, potatoes) but don’t like heat and others can’t handle frost (tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, okra) and love warm weather. It still surprises me that this isn’t common knowledge (it wasn’t for me when I started). Your frost dates (last frost in the spring and first frost in the fall) are the most important gardening times. They tell you when you can plant certain vegetables and when they need to be reaped. Too early or too late and you’ll be sad, sad gardener.
The wild and allusive Toy Fox Terrier digging up my gardenGroundhog making a run for it.
8. Watch out for critters
If you notice animals in your neighborhood, know that they may think of your garden as a free meal. A small fence (2 or 3 feet tall) will keep out rabbits, but you will need a taller fence (6 feet or more) to deter groundhogs, raccoon, and deer from invading your space. There are also garlicky sprays and fence clips that will deter them some. Most animals don’t like strong smells, so planting herbs and garlic/onions on the outside of your garden is not a bad idea. Also, keep an eye on your plants for damage, as even the best fencing can be leaped over or dug under.
Cherry tomatoes inside the house – 12/22/2013
9. Think outside the box
There are a lot of different ways to garden besides the standard “till up the backyard and plant in rows”. Indoor gardening can be done with systems like the AeroGarden. Containers or individual planters work well for situations where you can’t plant into the ground (apartments, limited sun, etc). If you don’t have a tiller or want to go to the trouble of tilling, you can build gardens on top of your grass, whether it be raised beds, straw bale gardening, or lasagna mulching. And don’t be limited to your backyard. Front yard gardens, if done tastefully, are a possibility as long as there are no prohibitions where you live (like city ordinances or home owner association rules).
Good luck and happy gardening!
Have any questions about your first garden? Please leave a reply.
Succession planting is the process of planting one crop after another. This sometimes means planting something every two weeks (like bush green beans or lettuce) so that you can have a continuous supply. Other times it means the gardener (snarky or not) will plant something in the spring (like spinach or peas) and then when it peters out with the warming weather, put in something else (like corn or squash), then when summer comes to a close, grow fall crops (like turnips or mustard or spinach). For my garden, I do both with a preference for the spring/summer/fall system, as I like to grow as much as possible for as long as possible (insert smugness here).
Here’s an example with my summer potatoes and then my fall turnips, peas, and corn salad.
Potatoes in early Summer 2013Turnips, peas, and corn salad in Fall 2013
Here is my monthly garden progression so you get the idea of succession over a whole season.
March 2013
In April, I decided to use Cascade bush peas to get my Three Sisters corn/beans/squash mounds started. They make a good spring time filler while the gardener waits for the temperatures to stabilize above freezing.
April 2013
By the way, this was the first time I coerced my Three Sisters garden to actually work out in three years, with the beans going up the corn like they were supposed to instead not growing at all. Persistence pays off this time – yeah me.
May 2013June 2013
The turnips in the top middle near the potatoes were totally accidental as I let one of my Purple Top turnips go to seed. I’ll try to use the same technique next year by moving some of my overwintered turnips (bottom left quadrant in September) to other parts of my garden. I planted the upper row of Tendergreen bush beans first and then the second row about 2 or 3 weeks later. I would have done a third row in August but the pumpkins ended up taking over from the west. This area will be planted with Roma tomatoes next year. (Yes, I’m already neurotically planning next year’s garden, including a new one in my front yard next to my tree line).
July 2013
The Ho Mi Z mustard in the upper right corner is currently going to seed as of this November post. I’m going to collect as much as I can, but there will definitely be random mustard all over the place next year. Again, I love to have edible weeds (or volunteers as they are sometimes called). The mustard was planted as a “cover crop” as I knew I was putting in potatoes in that area next year. Mustard is supposed to help potatoes by countering nematodes and weeds. Plus you get delicious greens for salads, etc and seeds for cooking and making mustard. I picked Ho Mi Z (aka Dragon Tongue) because it was on sale at Johnny’s Seeds last year.
Mustard going to seed – Fall 2013August 2013
The Tyee spinach, New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia), and Cascade peas will be covered with leaf mulch this fall and uncovered in the middle of next March. This will allow them to overwinter and be ready to go in the spring, saving a month or two of potential growth. This will be my first year trying this, so I’ll post my findings for your enjoyment and knowledge.
Thanks to Shop.Cook.Make for this wonderful recipe. I’ve modified it several times over the last 6 months, sometimes using turnip or mustard greens (instead of spinach), green onions (instead of chives), and/or cilantro (instead of cumin). I finally arrived at that point in summer where it could be made using just ingredients from my garden (except the cumin). With this batch, I also added a Jalapeno pepper to give them a little more kick.
3 Potatoes (any type)
3 cloves of Garlic
2 or 3 cups of Spinach fresh or frozen (or any other leafy green) – I used turnip greens
1 tbsp Basil
2 tbsp Chives – I used green onions
2 tbsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Cumin
2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (optional)
3 tbsp White Wine (optional)
Chop the potatoes in big chunks and boil until done but very firm (about 6 minutes). Add some salt to the water if you want. You can use frozen spinach. Just make sure to get all the water out before cooking.
Chop the Spinach (or other greens). Cook in a pan with the chopped garlic and the wine (or substitute for water) for 3 or 4 minutes until it’s soft.
Chop the herbs (if fresh). Dried can be used also.
Mix everything in a bowl, (including the nutritional yeast if you have it on hand) and let it rest until it’s cool enough for you to touch it without burning your hands.
Then proceed to make small balls (like meatballs). Use cooking spray in the pan.
The Snarky Gardener lists the best vegetables to plant in Northeastern Ohio gardens
I developed this list by asking, “If I was starting a new Northeastern Ohio garden today, what would I plant to guarantee success?” Planting at the right time and place is an important factor in producing an abundance of veggies. Some vegetables can withstand frosts and prefer spring or fall. Others love the heat of July and August. Some can handle some shade where others must have at least 6 hours of sun a day to grow well. All these variables (plus a few more) are noted below.
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a garden staple and usually a great success in any garden I’ve ever had. They should be started inside from seed or purchased from a reliable grower. Cherry tomatoes produce a lot and are less picky than other varieties. Most tomato plants (except for Roma varieties) will keep growing until the first frost of the fall (the technical term is indeterminate) and will need extra support . I’ve used 6 foot steel fencing for this purpose as you can also grow peas up them. Plant tomatoes deep so the first primary leaves are touching the soil as the buried stem will put out roots. Tomatoes do need full sun – the more, the merrier.
When to Plant Tomatoes in Northeastern Ohio: around the middle of May after all danger of frost has passed. You can plant determine varieties (like Romas) later in June or even July since they produce all their fruit at once and then die off.
2. Onions
Egyptian Walking Onions. Click here to purchase.
By onions, I mean the bulbs you buy at the garden store and use as either green onions (tops and all) or later as full onions. Perennial onions (like these Egyptian Walking Onions) come back year after year. Onions (and other related plants – garlic, leaks, chives) are also mammal resistant, as deer and rabbits and groundhogs will usually leave them alone.
When to Plant Onion in Northeastern Ohio: These can first be planted in March or April and can be continuously planted through the fall.
3. Beans
Jacob’s Cattle beans can be eaten as green or dry beans. Click here to purchase from the Snarky Gardener.
Easy to grow (once the spring frosts are over) and will help to improve the soil with their nitrogen fixing. They also produce food quickly (under 60 days) so they can be planted later in the season (through the beginning of August here in Ohio). Dry beans, used for soups and chili, are just green beans that have not been picked before the pods are brown (like these Jacob’s Cattle beans). Beans are a favorite food of groundhogs and rabbits though so you’ll need to fence them in if you have either near your garden.
When to Plant Green Beans in Northeastern Ohio: around the middle of May after all danger of frost has passed until August.
4. Zucchini
The Snarky Gardener’s 2014 award winning Sure Thing zucchini
Very prolific, zucchini are always welcome in my garden. I tend to go with the all-female varieties – like Burpee’s Sure Thing Zucchini – because they don’t need to be pollinated by insects to produce fruit. Plant zucchini in mounds with 2 or 3 seeds per mound.
When to Plant Zucchini in Northeastern Ohio: around the end of May after all danger of frost has passed and the ground has warmed up.
5. Potatoes
Planted in spring, potatoes are really easy. Just put in the ground and hill up dirt or mulch (leaves or straw) as the plant itself grows up. Just wait for the plant to die off and then dig up your taters. You will need store bought seed potatoes as grocery store potatoes are usually sprayed with chemicals that keep them from sprouting.
When to Plant Potatoes in Northeastern Ohio: as early as St. Patrick’s Day through June.
Garlic, like potatoes, are super easy. I did find out the hard way, you must split the bulbs up into cloves before planting. But after they are in, you are good to go. Garlic can be strategically planted to help deter critters (deer, rabbits, etc) from eating other crops. Many animals do not like the smell of garlic.
When to Plant Garlic in Northeastern Ohio: mid October to be pulled in July or plant in March/April though this will grow smaller bulbs.
7. Turnips
Seven Top Turnip Greens. Click here to purchase from the Snarky Gardener.
Easy to grow and very nutritious (a so-called “super food”), though the greens are somewhat bitter to eat sometimes (colcannon anyone?). I’ve been going with Seven Top turnips over the last year or so, which are grown mostly for their greens. The standard Purple Top White Globe turnip is also good for it’s greens, though you do have to worry about the roots getting tough and dried out as the summer temperatures spike. Turnips prefer cool weather and can be sown in early spring or fall and will overwinter (and then promptly go to seed if not harvested in time). They can also handle partial shade. As for pests, I have found turnips to be relatively pest free from both mammals and insects.
When to Plant Turnips in Northeastern Ohio: March through May and then again in August and October.
8. Carrots
Carrots are an issue for some gardens as rocky or clay soil can make for forked roots. Red Cored Chantenay is the 6 inch variety I commonly grow that’s just perfect for Northeast Ohio’s clay soil. They also overwinter well, coming back up for a special spring treat. The tops are loved by fuzzy animals, both mammals and caterpillars.
When to Plant Carrots in Northeastern Ohio: April to August.
9. Peas
Think of peas like green beans (they fix nitrogen) for the spring and fall. They can be planted as early as St. Patrick’s day in Northeastern Ohio. And like green beans, they are loved by bunnies and groundhogs, so you’ll need to fence the peas in and the rodents out. Also, they are tasty right off the vine, so there’s a chance they never make it back to the kitchen.
When to Plant Peas in Northeastern Ohio: March through May and then again in August and September.
10. Kale
Kale is a relative to cabbage and broccoli but easier to grow. Red Russian kale seems to be a winner as I know several other local gardeners who also raise it. You’ll need to keep an eye out for little green worms as they love kale.
When to Plant Kale in Northeastern Ohio: April through September.
11. Spinach / Swiss Chard
I tossed spinach and Swiss chard in because they are some of my favorite “super foods”. I like them better than most other greens (including lettuce and kale). Both are a little hard to get started and spinach will bolt (go to seed) once the weather gets hot (but loves the cool). Also, spinach and Swiss chard can handle some shade, so if you have at least 2 to 3 hours of sunlight a day, you’re good to go.
When to Plant Spinach in Northeastern Ohio: April / May and again in August/September.
When to Plant Swiss Chard in Northeastern Ohio: April through August.
Note – “plantmanity” is like humanity but with plants.
May and June have been tough on my gardening nerves. May gave us several frosty low temperature nights (including a hard freeze on 5/24/2013). The pots and leaf mulch came out to cover tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. Unfortunately, the coverings weren’t enough for some and those plants didn’t make it (cue the violin music). I lost 5 or 6 tomato plants plus 3 eggplants. A few of my potatoes also got frozen but they have grown back since. Fortunately, I hadn’t planted my peppers yet, since they seem to do better when planted after the weather has warmed up (think June). Also, the Snarky Gardener has been overzealous this season with plant starts, so replacements have readily available. All in all, not a complete disaster but I will consider this next spring when starting and planting my tender little friends.
Frosted Tomatoes (how sad) – 5/25/2013
On May 31st, my dog River and I discovered some furry friends in the garden. I had this issue last year, but it took me a week or two before figuring out that I had a groundhog. Half my corn crop, not to mention my spinach, my carrots, my cucumber vines, and various other tasty treats were lost before trapping the little basta . . . . critter (aka Woody). This year, I noticed some of my carrots had been nibbled down (both inside and outside my fence), but I really knew I had a problem when I saw the tiniest little guy scurrying from the garden into the stacked up logs behind the garden. Bucky (yes, I named him Bucky) was so small he could run straight through my 2″ X 4″ fencing without skipping a beat. A few days later, we noticed a second, much bigger groundhog (I named her Mamma), who had dug under the fence to get in for the free buffet. I currently have a trap set up inside the fence near that opening with delicious apples and corn as bait. So far I’ve lost a little spinach, all my broccoli, all my Tuscan kale, some carrot tops, and lots of peas plants. On 6/4/2013, I picked all the spinach just to be safe. It was starting to bolt anyways, so I’d rather eat it then have fuzzy little creatures make a salad with it.
Broccoli after groundhogs got done with it – 6/5/2013Here piggy piggy – 6/4/2013. (That’s comfrey in the foreground.)Woody the Groundhog – captured 7/15/2012. He’s in a better place now.
With spring in full force, my thoughts have turned to tomatoes and basil starts as I’ve been trading and selling them. The Kent Community TimeBank has given me an outlet for them where I don’t need to worry about the exchange of money. The truth of the matter is plant starts represent mostly time as they have to be treated like infants so the KCTB seems to be appropriate. The basil has been more popular than I would have ever imagined, so I’ll make an effort next year to produce more.
On 5/12/2013, I attended the Foods Not Lawns Cleveland plant swap. I traded 4 tomato starts (1 Mega Cherry cutting from my AeroGarden and 3 Sweet 100 Cherry starts). In return, I received two Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, two Long Purple eggplants, and a whole bunch of comfrey plants. Comfrey is useful as a nutrient mulch because it accumulates minerals well. Just chop it down a few times a year and put the leaves in your compost or around your heavy feeders (tomatoes, corn, broccoli, etc). Who needs to buy chemical fertilizer? Not this Snarky Gardener.
The AeroGardens have been producing well, giving me Jalapeno peppers, basil, cutting celery, parsley, and tomato cuttings (for starts). The Mega Cherry tomatoes are just getting ripe, and will be eaten seconds after they are ready. I will be saving the seeds from the red pepper to see if I can get them to grow. Practice makes perfect when it comes to seed saving. I tried to save the seeds from a green one, but they never spouted. I should have better luck with the riper Jalapeno.
Mega Cherry tomatoes – 5/7/2013Jalapeno peppers and Thai basil – 5/7/2013
Of course, with all these starts running around, I planted 6 in late April and early May to get some from under my feet (even with a chance of frost still possible). This chance became reality on 5/13/2013 and 5/14/2013 as temperatures fell into to low 30’s overnight. Overturned pots became makeshift protectors inside the steel fence tomato cages. I did lose one Sweet 100 Cherry tomato plant as the pot I covered it with was too thin and holey. Luckily I have more plants where that came from.
On 5/12/2013, the first of the potato leaves poked their heads out (and were promptly frosted). I’ve been checking on them from time to time, finding a few that turned rotten. I’m not sure if this was caused by using the leaf mulch (it’s pretty wet in places) or the potatoes themselves, but I pulled any that didn’t look good. Fortunately the Snarky Gardener is smart enough to have extra potatoes that he didn’t plant the first time, so those will fill in any open spots.
Potatoes sprouting up from leaf mulch – 5/12/2013Potatoes coming up by my kale – 5/17/2013
Over the last year or so, I have read some Internet articles about using leaf mulch in the garden. I had heard that leaf mulch would cause my garden’s pH level to get too acidic but wanted to look into it further. After through research, I determined that this was probably not true, but that even if it was, using lime or wood ash would reverse any pH problems. So, during last summer, I purchased a lawn sweeper for my mower as I have almost 1 acre of lawn and plenty of oak and maple leaves to pick up (and pick up and pick up . . .).
Lawn Sweeper from John Deere’s website. The driver is NOT the Snarky Gardener.
This year I decided to use some of this mulch I collected to cover my potatoes, especially after reading a potato mulching article or two. You can see by the pictures that my garden is a sea of leaves. They have been a pain in the butt to move around, especially when they are wet and several feet deep in places. On the plus side, they will make my potato growing a lot easier than last year. All I had to do is place the seed potatoes in the mulch eye side up and cover with leaves. No messy digging or soil involved. And later, as the potato leaves grow up, I will just pile up the more leaves around/under the stems like I did with dirt last year.
Note on 4/19/2013: The severe April winds have blown off the leaves at times, exposing some of the potatoes. I checked one for development and saw roots. I’m not worried as I do know from experience that they will grow anyways (my compost pile potatoes kept putting out vines). I’ll just keep covering them back up, though I might add some dirt to make it a non-issue.
Note on 6/15/2013: Some of the potatoes are several feet high and flowering; others have just started a little. I moved 6 “barely starters” to a different part of the garden (where the spinach was) and buried them under dirt, thinking maybe a change of scenery would help. I replaced these with red seed potatoes purchased at the farmer’s market. We’ll have to see if it’s the potatoes or the site/mulch.
Potatoes planted 4/5/2013Potatoes planted under leaf mulch – 4/5/2013Potatoes sprouting up from leaf mulch – 5/12/2013Potatoes coming up by my kale – 5/17/2013Leaf mulched potatoes – 6/15/2013
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