Roses are red, violets are blue; I think it’s time, For, “Is Potato 2”. I am riding into this thread on the back of, “Is Potato”, posted back in 2022. How time flies, eh. Speaking of backs, we have been tidying-up quadrants in the veggie plots. The dedicated plot for the spuds was identified and I pulled out the plough with a handle. We got on either side of the bed and eyeballed what we thought was “straightish”, stuck in sticks and I began pulling the row between the sticks, deeper and deeper until a voice from above went, “Deep enough, Jongen”. As I pulled, the Bride was already organising the excess soil. She then began digging a hole in the bottom of the ditch even deeper, every so many cm’s for me to drop the chitted spuds into. It wasn’t a big job but it was cramped, and…you guessed it—“backbreaking”. So that is the way it went; row for row, one row at the time. This went better than first pulling all the rows, then crouching on a plank on top of the furrow hills…wobbling, tottering trying to bend over far enough to place a spud in the hole. All done, a spud in each hole and their names on tags at the end of the row. Not quite done though. The bottom of the rows, in-between the spud holes were used to fill the spud holes, covering them. We had begun our visit to the lottie early in the day, once they were planted, we left it all open to the sun to warm the soil. Obviously, the hills on either side of the trenches will be used to earthen-up the potato plants as they grow vertically; so that in the end, what is now hill will become deep and what is now deep will become hill. This exaggerated technique will mean that the plant stem will be longer, making it possible for the plant to produce more tubers. It is not a lot of work, is potato.
At last the potatoes are freed from the egg cartons. Your tater rows will be filled with potatoes at harvest. Love your enthusiasm for gardening .
This is a sight for sore eyes! ( sore back too? ). I always really enjoy it when your potatoes go in. It looks marvelously done.
Haha Mel— well my back is oké, but the Bride’s, a bit sore. Oh dear. It is a magic moment when the spuds go in too.
Spring time is an exciting time of year . As a gardener , a tree/shrub trimmer, a landscaper , grower of many plants and a barn goddess , I forget that I need time to get back into physical shape after a long winter. Sometimes I become so accustomed to spring recharging my gardener instincts that I forget about the importance of slowly working up to the challenges of gardening. I have a short window of time to get a gaggle of gardening implemented , sometimes without realizing that winter was a long down time. It takes time to get back into gardening shape . Becoming ‘Mindful’ before projects and activities I have to slowly work back into planting and executing a plan for projects. Famous last words as I sit with a hot pad nursing a sore neck. Ah not to worry a chocolate bar will recharge my batteries.
Ach Pac. What a typical story. I am working on this gigantic, soft triple chocolate cookie as we speak. I hear my Bride nibbling and mmm-ing on the other side of the room. Sorry about your neck. Is it neck strain or neck crane? I guess it has you whooping from the highest sand hill right?
Ha ha ha… neck is better today.. taking a time out today. You too … take it easy… we all seem to spring in to action way to fast until a lil somethin somethin comes along telling us to slow down . Cheers.
