Potato Mounds
Last year when it came time to plant the potatoes, we dug a trench and placed the spuds in the ground. This year, I’ve made mounds about a foot tall, and planted the potatoes in a ditch along the ridge of the trench. This should allow the potatoes to dig deep, and grow lots of new roots. I’ve separated the spuds that were planted whole from the ones which were sliced. The first three rows were planted whole, and the following four rows were cut spuds.
When planting potatoes, it’s OK to cut them into smaller chunks if they have more then one eye. The eyes are the portion that grows out of the potato and sets leaves. After cutting them into sections, it’s a good idea to let them sit for at least 24 hours before planting them. This gives the plant time to form a scab, and helps deliver larger yeilds.
On Top of the Shed
After several days of constant planting, I decided to switch gears and do some construction. I started building the roof sections, and Nate snapped this picture when I was checking out the view from the top. I’ll admit that when I first climbed up to the top I was a bit scared, but I soon found that If I concentrated on my work, didn’t look down and moved slowly, I was just fine with being up so high.
English Walnut
On one of the days last week, some of the neighbors came over to check out my garden and all of my other plants. It’s nice to have company that shares an interest in growing food. Darlene had given me a book about herbs a year or so ago, so I made it a point to share the rewards I had learned from the book, and I gave her one each of the herbs I’ve been growing. The next day, Dan brought me a tree that fit excellently into my little farm. Above is an English Walnut tree, and it’s the first of what I hope to be a large collection of various nut trees. He also brought some mulch to place around the plant, and after seeing just how nice the mulch worked, I bought several bags for the farm.
Apples
I finally snapped a picture of the baby apples on one of the trees in front of my home. These are the first little apples I’ve seen, and I’ve been waiting for years to see them.
Moving Plants
I found the cart on the back of the lawn mower works very well when moving plants. There are three large gardens on the farm now, and it can be quite a pain to walk the plants two trays at a time from the greenhouse to the other end of the farm. Once we began using the cart things got much easier.
Shed Progress
By the end of my vacation time, I had the beginning of the peak constructed. I’m using more 2 x 4s then recommended and trying to arrange the boards in a beam type construction method. At the top where the angle of the roof changes dramatically, I have three 2 x 4s wide, with the peak itself two boards wide. I built an archway in the center to help support any accumulated snow, with two boards wide, and two high. I’ll need to load up my car with 2 x 4s on the way home from work Monday to continue moving upwards.
Plum or Peach Tree
On Sunday I snapped the picture above. If I had to choose one picture to sum up my vacation, this would be the one I would choose.
