What did you do in the garden today?

[Smokerbill]

I carried a dozen 5 gallon buckets full of chicken run compost to one of the raised beds and topped it with some free fertilizer before the rains start tomorrow. There are three more beds to top with compost, but one still has kale and brussels sprouts growing in it, another has carrots so those will have to be done later. The last one is pretty much cleared out so it will be next.

 

[NanaK]

Don't you want to plant the bigger potatoes rather than the small ones?

So you get bigger potatoes over time.

I like medium. Not the tiny and not the huge.

Hmmm... I'd never heard that. I thought it was that you just need an "eye" and enough potato flesh around it to help it get started growing.

We always saved medium potatoes that we saw eyes on for seed. The more eyes the better. Keep them dark and cool through winter.

Maybe 2 weeks before planting, move them where it's warmer with more light. I sat them in a box in an extra bedroom. Just light through the window, not direct. The eyes will start to sprout.

Several days before planting time we cut them. Allow about 2-3 eyes and some of the potato "meat" attached. Let the cut sides dry a bit. Then plant. We planted about 6-8 inches apart in rows about 2 feet apart.

One potato with eyes can give you 3 or more seed potatoes.

We used to plant 2-100ft rows. That's a lot of potatoes and a lot of digging!

 

[fuzzi]

Covered the beds:
View attachment 3693594

It got down to 24°F last night.

Tomatoes finally gave up.

But, underneath the row covers:

The looseleaf lettuce should have been slightly frostbitten, but it looks great!

 

[WthrLady]

A branch of my local bank still had their halloween/fall decor out-pumpkins,squash and bales.
I asked if they had plans for it and if not could I buy it all.
She said it was headed for the dumpster so they could put up Christmas- it's all donated to them.
She said if I wanted to haul it away and save them the work, I could for free.
Deal. 4-80 pound bales of HAY- and a dozen large pumpkins and squash for the hens.
She said I could do the same every year after Thanksgiving.

 

[Smokerbill]

I like medium. Not the tiny and not the huge.



We always saved medium potatoes that we saw eyes on for seed. The more eyes the better. Keep them dark and cool through winter.

Maybe 2 weeks before planting, move them where it's warmer with more light. I sat them in a box in an extra bedroom. Just light through the window, not direct. The eyes will start to sprout.

Several days before planting time we cut them. Allow about 2-3 eyes and some of the potato "meat" attached. Let the cut sides dry a bit. Then plant. We planted about 6-8 inches apart in rows about 2 feet apart.

One potato with eyes can give you 3 or more seed potatoes.

We used to plant 2-100ft rows. That's a lot of potatoes and a lot of digging!

All this talk about potatoes brings back memories of when I was a little kid, working for my grandpa. He "hired" me to cut seed potatoes every spring.

We used this small 3 sided bench, the top section with a 4 or 5 inch hole in the top. A pair of old knife blades was mounted in the hole, making an X across the middle. A steel/wire basket was placed underneath.

You'd take the potato and lay it across the blades, and with a gloved hand smack it through to cut it, and the four pieces would fall into the basket.

Small potatoes would be placed to one side and just cut in half. If the potato was too large for the hole it would first be cut in half by hand with a knife, then the halves would be quartered.

When the basket was full ( I think it was a little smaller than a half bushel), a scoop of lime powder was dumped over the top. Then the basket of cut seed potatoes was dumped into a 100# gunney sack.

When the sack was full, you'd use a big needle and cotton twine to sew the top of the bag shut, with an ear sticking up on each side as small "handles".

Just reminiscing about times gone by....

 

[CNJ]

I prepared 2 kratky 5-gallon buckets today and each bucket has 3 x 2-inch net cups with lettuce. The place where I put them wasn't exactly level, so I used 1/4-inch wicking ropes in the net cups. One of the net cups is slightly touching the solution and another has about 1/4 inch of solution from the bottom of the net cup, and I made my wicking ropes 4 inches long; hopefully, it should be enough to get them started. I will probably end up with 8 buckets and a lot of wasted seedlings.

I have them on the side of my house where it gets the rising morning sun and the roof extends slightly over the bucket, so it won't fill up when it rains, unless it's really windy. My lettuce does well on this side of my house during the winter months. During the summer, I have to grow them under a 40% shade cloth.

 

[igorsMistress]

Finished up the cold prep... Well, sorta. I just realized that I forgot to hook up the de-icers for the ducks, bachelor pen, and my buck (goat) whose currently separated from the herd. Looks like I'll have to deal with all that in the morning.

I did get both outdoor water pumps covered and the outdoor spigots on the house. One of the new covers is missing pieces so DH will have to take it back to Lowes tomorrow and swap it out.

I got my herbs (rosemary, parsley, thyme, and oregano) covered up for the night. Anyone know off the cuff what the cold tolerance is for these herbs? Just wondering if I should bring them in the garage. Or maybe my new gardening shed. Not insulated but at least they'd be out of the elements. I can always plant more from the gazillion seeds I have but what I've got growing now is really nice...

I’ve never covered my rosemary and we get down into the 30’s in winter, sometimes freezing. Of course we don’t get snow…

 

[igorsMistress]

You just reminded me... I found a couple of carrot volunteers this weekend. Probably ones I missed when I harvested this summer. I didn't cover them... Maybe I should have?

If you get snow a few layers of mulch on top will protect the roots and they should come back next year, but these carrots won’t be tasty in my experience. You can let them go to seed though if you want to collect, and the flowers are pretty.

 

[igorsMistress]

G’morning gardeners. I’ve done nothing outside this week; I’ve been sanding and painting a storage chest we keep in the living room instead. I needed the cooler temps to paint and this week has been pretty nice. Mornings are chilly and we have a decent chance for some rain tonight

 

[Sally PB]

You can let them go to seed though if you want to collect, and the flowers are pretty.

If you have Queen Annes Lace (wildflower, sometimes called wild carrot), it will readily cross with carrots. The resulting seeds can (probably will) revert to tough, skinny roots.

I don't save carrot seed for just this reason. We have Queen Annes Lace everywhere.